Promoting Sustainable Agricultural Production and Conservation of Key Biodiversity Species through Land Restoration and Efficient Use of Ecosystems in the Dallol Bosso and Surrounding Areas (PROSAP/COKEBIOS)
Part I: Project Information
GEF ID 10420
Project Type FSP
Type of Trust Fund GET
CBIT/NGI CBIT No NGI No
Project Title Promoting Sustainable Agricultural Production and Conservation of Key Biodiversity Species through Land Restoration and Efficient Use of Ecosystems in the Dallol Bosso and Surrounding Areas (PROSAP/COKEBIOS)
Countries Niger
Agency(ies) IFAD, UNEP
Other Executing Partner(s) Direction G?n?rales des Eaux & For?ts, of the Ministry of Environment and Fight Against Desertification), Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, with technical support from World Resources Institute (WRI), Ministry of Finance and the Agricultural Development Bank (BAGRI)
Executing Partner Type Government GEF Focal Area Multi Focal Area
Taxonomy Terrestrial Protected Areas, Protected Areas and Landscapes, Biodiversity, Productive Landscapes, Species, Wildlife for Sustainable Development, Focal Areas, Sustainable Fire Management, Sustainable Land Management, Land Degradation, Integrated and Cross-sectoral approach, Income Generating Activities, Land Degradation Neutrality, Land Cover and Land cover change, Land Productivity, Biomes, International Waters, Convene multi-stakeholder alliances, Demonstrate innovative approache, Influencing models, Deploy innovative financial instruments, Type of Engagement, Information Dissemination, Consultation, Partnership, Participation, Stakeholders, SMEs, Individuals/Entrepreneurs, Private Sector, Financial intermediaries and market facilitators, Non-Governmental Organization, Civil Society, Academia, Beneficiaries, Communications, Behavior change, Education, Awareness Raising, Public Campaigns, Gender results areas, Participation and leadership, Gender Equality, Capacity Development, Access and control over natural resources, Knowledge Generation and Exchange, Access to benefits and services, Women groups, Gender Mainstreaming, Gender-sensitive indicators, Sex-disaggregated indicators, Innovation, Enabling Activities, Capacity, Knowledge and Research, Theory of change, Learning, Indicators to measure change, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Generation, Community-Based Natural Resource Management, Sustainable Pasture Management, Ecosystem Approach, Sustainable Agriculture, Sustainable Livelihoods, Restoration and Rehabilitation of Degraded Lands, Community Based Natural Resource Mngt, Community Based Organization, Capital providers, Local Communities, Adaptive management, Strengthen institutional capacity and decision-making, Transform policy and regulatory environments
Rio Markers Climate Change Mitigation Climate Change Mitigation 0
Climate Change Adaptation Climate Change Adaptation 2
Submission Date 9/20/2021
Expected Implementation Start 3/31/2022
Expected Completion Date 4/30/2026
Duration 48In Months Agency Fee($) 503,196.00 A. FOCAL/NON-FOCAL AREA ELEMENTS
Objectives/Programs Focal Area Trust GEF Co-Fin Outcomes Fund Amount($) Amount($)
BD-2-7 Address direct drivers to GET 880,038.00 10,945,484.00 protect habitats and species and Improve financial sustainability, effective management, and ecosystem coverage of the global protected area estate.
LD-1-1 Maintain or improve GET 2,876,712.00 32,484,508.00 flow of agro-ecosystem services to sustain food production and livelihoods through Sustainable Land Management (SLM)
LD-1-4 Reduce pressures on GET 1,540,058.00 26,958,974.43 natural resources from competing land uses and increase resilience in the wider landscape
Total Project Cost($) 5,296,808.00 70,388,966.43 B. Project description summary
Project Objective To strengthen national, regional and municipal capacity and actions to implement an integrated ecosystem management approach in the Dallol Bosso landscape in Niger
Project Financ Expected Expected Outputs Tr GEF Confirme Compon ing Outcomes ust Project d Co- ent Type Fu Financin Financin nd g($) g($) Project Financ Expected Expected Outputs Tr GEF Confirme Compon ing Outcomes ust Project d Co- ent Type Fu Financin Financin nd g($) g($)
Componen Technic 1.1. 1.1.1. Training, Tools and GE 775,217. 2,742,406 t 1 al Government Technical assistance T 00 .00 (UNEP): Assista of Niger provided with due gender Enhanced nce adopt and equity consideration to National implement national line ministries to Capacity new improve the technical for LDN integrated capacities and policy implement landscape coherence/alignment of LDN ation management with national development approaches planning using integrated to integrate approaches LDN and BD conservation 1.1.2. Data and monitoring into system hub regarding development SLM/LDN indicators and planning Subindicators developed to showcase successful LDN Targets and implementation[1] indicators 1.1.3. Capacities of key -300 staff in institutions built to support line LDN/SLM monitoring, ministries tra restoration and maintenance ined in of functional landscapes technical taking into consideration the capacities STAP/SPI guidelines on and policy LDN framework coherence with LDN 1.1.4. Institutional and legal and national frameworks strengthened to development secure land tenure rights planning which enhance LDN implementation -1 data and monitoring 1.1.5. Integrated Landscape system hub Management Plan, at the Centre participatory land-use National de planning on 614,708 ha of Surveillance land and relevant Ecologique regulations and rules around et LDN developed for the Environneme Dallol Bosso landscape to ntale showcase integrating LDN (CNSEE) and BD conservation into development planning. -2 government- [1] With due consideration approved of STAP and SPI guidelines institutional on LDN and legal frameworks to secure land tenure rights to enhance LDN implementati on
-1 Integrated Landscape Management Plan, and participatory land-use planning on 614,708 ha of land approved and implemented for the Dallol Bosso landscape Project Financ Expected Expected Outputs Tr GEF Confirme Compon ing Outcomes ust Project d Co- ent Type Fu Financin Financin nd g($) g($)
Componen Investm 2.1: Funding 2.1.1 One Protected Area GE 1,529,63 27,493,39 t 2 ent and technical (for Giraffes) is created and T 7.00 7.00 (UNEP): assistance two Integrated Management Improved provided to Plans (Giraffe PA and Hippo biodiversit demonstrate created Sanctuary) with due y land gender and indigenous conservati restoration people consideration are on and and wildlife developed and land conservation implementation started restoration in Dallol actions in Bosso and 2.1.2 Institutional and the Dallol surrounding technical capacity, enabling Bosso areas policies (e.g. communal landscape development plans which Tagets and integrate LDN and indicators: Biodiversity conservation) and infrastructure are -1 new PA established to manage the covering Giraffe Protected Area and 69,975 ha of the Kandadji Hippo land Sanctuary
-614,708 ha 2.1.3 614,708 ha of degraded of land production landscapes restored (agricultural land, tiger bushes/bushland landscape -5 and 10 blocks of sensitization bourgoitieres , agroforestry programs of parks and pastoral stakeholders, grasslands) are restored including communities 2.1.4 Communication on SLM, toolkits and radio programs biodiversity developed to improve conservation adoption of SLM and and land restoration interventions, restoration shared and disseminated to stakeholders 2.2 The provided 2.2.1 Alternative Income technical Generating Activities for assistance 150,000 direct beneficiaries enables the contributing to land generation of restoration identified and land and implemented with local wildlife communities to reduce conservation threats to the giraffe -friendly Protected Area and the income Kandadji Hippo Sanctuary activities 2.2.2 Private investors, enterprises and 1 business plan for investments to Tagets and restore land and conserve indicators: BD identified through scoping and shared with the -150 000 identified private sector. people (50% women) adjacent to the PA benefit from income generating activities
-1 full fledged business plan to support investments in biodiversity conservation and land restoration. Project Financ Expected Expected Outputs Tr GEF Confirme Compon ing Outcomes ust Project d Co- ent Type Fu Financin Financin nd g($) g($)
Componen Technic 3.1 3,000 3.1.1. 3,000 smallholders GE 2,339,72 29,724,68 t 3 (IFAD) al smallholder participate in awareness- T 6.00 8.00 : Promote Assista producers of raising on market literacy[1] improved nce selected VCs of the selected Value Chains. production become practices market 3.1.2 Smallholder irrigation of key literate (at systems promoted and selected least 50% of production is boosted on 500 agricultura whom are ha to improve agricultural l value female water management chains producers) benefiting smallscale (VCs) contributing producers in Dallol Bosso to reduced and surrounding areas post harvest losses by 3.1.3 Infrastructure about 50% established (e.g storage facilities with phytosanitary Tagets and control serving as trading indicators: points, solar energy systems) for irrigation, processing and 3 000 packaging to improve the smallholders marketability of selected (50% VCs, benefiting 600 farmers, women) are 50% of them being women. market literate 3.1.4 Dissemination of knowledge products and 500 ha of lessons learned targeting land with decision makers and local improved communities. smallholder irrigation [1] Market literacy is the systems awareness, understanding and capacity to build the 4 VCs processes, institutions (such strengthened as viable cooperatives), benefitting competences/skills and 600 (50% relationships that enable women) markets to work for poor smallholders producers. Adapted from Hunger and Poverty: the Role of Biodiversity (2006). Ed. S. Bala Ravi, I. Hoeschle-Zeledon, M.S Swaminathan, & E. Frison Project Financ Expected Expected Outputs Tr GEF Confirme Compon ing Outcomes ust Project d Co- ent Type Fu Financin Financin nd g($) g($)
Componen Technic 4.1. 4.1.1 1,500 farming GE 400,000. 6,636,030 t 4 (IFAD): al Reducing households on 614 708 ha T 00 .43 Creating Assista post-harvest undergo training and adopt an nce losses (PHL) post-harvest loss (PHL) enabling by 50% reduction technologies (e.g environme among hermetically sealed bags) nt and smallholder and practices (e.g harvesting capacity at producers at correct moisture content). local level contributes to manage to 4.2.1 At least 600 post- biodiversity smallholder producers (of harvest conservation whom 50% will be female losses within the producers) participate in Dollol Bosso capacity building trainings at landscape local level to handle and common pest and disease surrounding outbreaks of selected key areas VCs in Dallol Bosso
Tagets and 4.3.1 One (1) Monitoring indicators: and evaluation framework developed and implemented -50% reduction of PHL on 614 708 ha of land
-1 500 smallholders (50% women) with reduced PHL
4.2 Risks to selected value chains (VCs) ? rice, beef, onions and NTFP reduced through SLM
Tagets and indicators:
-600 smallholders (50% women) with enhanced capacity to control PHL associated with pest and disease outbreaks
4.3 Project monitoring and evaluation ensured
Target and indicator
One (1) operational protocol developed for data collection for M&E Project Financ Expected Expected Outputs Tr GEF Confirme Compon ing Outcomes ust Project d Co- ent Type Fu Financin Financin nd g($) g($)
Sub Total ($) 5,044,58 66,596,52 0.00 1.43
Project Management Cost (PMC)
GET 136,986.00 2,070,619.00
GET 115,242.00 1,721,826.00
Sub Total($) 252,228.00 3,792,445.00
Total Project Cost($) 5,296,808.00 70,388,966.43 C. Sources of Co-financing for the Project by name and by type
Sources of Name of Co-financier Type of Investment Amount($) Co- Co- Mobilized financing financing
Recipient Government of Niger In-kind Recurrent 500,000.00 Country expenditures Government
GEF Agency IFAD Grant Investment 23,870,000.00 mobilized
GEF Agency IFAD In-kind Recurrent 29,930,000.00 expenditures
Civil Society Am?nagement des Terroirs et In-kind Recurrent 69,155.42 Organization Productions Foresti?res expenditures (ATPF)
Civil Society Am?nagement des Terroirs et Grant Investment 1,770,427.01 Organization Productions Foresti?res mobilized (ATPF)
Recipient Department of Wildlife and Grant Recurrent 560,000.00 Country Hunting expenditures Government
Recipient Department of Wildlife and In-kind Recurrent 432,000.00 Country Hunting expenditures Government
Donor Coordination for the Support In-kind Recurrent 157,384.00 Agency Project for Sensitive expenditures Agriculture (PASEC) Project
Recipient Department of Sustainable Grant Recurrent 2,100,000.00 Country Land Management expenditures Government
Recipient Department of Sustainable In-kind Recurrent 500,000.00 Country Land Management expenditures Government
Recipient Dosso Regional Council Public Investment 10,000,000.00 Country Investment mobilized Government Sources of Name of Co-financier Type of Investment Amount($) Co- Co- Mobilized financing financing
Recipient Regional Department of In-kind Recurrent 500,000.00 Country Environement, Dosso expenditures Government
Total Co-Financing($) 70,388,966.43
Describe how any "Investment Mobilized" was identified Investments mobilized from cofinanciers in the table above were mainly identified through collaborative initiatives from donor agencies, GEF Agencies and Government agencies? projects and initiatives where the costs were budgeted for (other than recurrent costs). Co-financing investments from entities in the table above were derived from the amounts committed to community land management and community-based livelihood programmes in the Dallol Bosso where the current project will be implemented. Portions of some co-financing investments were calculated based on the estimated level of financial compensation that would be offered based on the amount of time that organisations would spend in offering technical and expert support to the project. D. Trust Fund Resources Requested by Agency(ies), Country(ies), Focal Area and the Programming of Funds
Agenc Trust Country Focal Programmin Amount($) Fee($) y Fund Area g of Funds
IFAD GET Niger Land LD STAR 2,876,712 273,287 Degradation Allocation
UNEP GET Niger Land LD STAR 1,540,058 146,305 Degradation Allocation
UNEP GET Niger Biodiversity BD STAR 880,038 83,604 Allocation
Total Grant Resources($) 5,296,808.00 503,196.00 E. Non Grant Instrument NON-GRANT INSTRUMENT at CEO Endorsement
Includes Non grant instruments? No Includes reflow to GEF? No F. Project Preparation Grant (PPG) PPG Required false
PPG Amount ($) 181,279
PPG Agency Fee ($) 17,221
Agenc Trust Country Focal Programmin Amount($) Fee($) y Fund Area g of Funds
IFAD GET Niger Land LD STAR 89,955 8,546 Degradation Allocation
UNEP GET Niger Land LD STAR 58,116 5,521 Degradation Allocation
UNEP GET Niger Biodiversity BD STAR 33,208 3,154 Allocation
Total Project Costs($) 181,279.00 17,221.00
Please provide justification There is a request for a $181,279 PPG (+fees), within the allowable cap for a $5.2 million project. Core Indicators
Indicator 1 Terrestrial protected areas created or under improved management for conservation and sustainable use
Ha (Expected at Ha (Expected at CEO Ha (Achieved at Ha (Achieved at PIF) Endorsement) MTR) TE)
70,975.00 56,300.00 0.00 0.00 Indicator 1.1 Terrestrial Protected Areas Newly created
Ha (Expected at Total Ha Ha (Expected at CEO (Achieved at Total Ha PIF) Endorsement) MTR) (Achieved at TE)
70,975.00 56,300.00 0.00 0.00
Total Ha Name of (Expected at the IUCN Total Ha CEO Total Ha Total Ha Protecte WDP Categor (Expecte Endorsement (Achieve (Achieve d Area A ID y d at PIF) ) d at MTR) d at TE)
Akula 125689 Select 1,000.00 1,000.00 National Park Kandadji Hippo Sanctuary Akula 125689 Select 69,975.00 55,300.00 National Park The Bosso Giraffe Protected Area Indicator 1.2 Terrestrial Protected Areas Under improved Management effectiveness
Ha (Expected at Total Ha Ha (Expected at CEO (Achieved at Total Ha PIF) Endorsement) MTR) (Achieved at TE)
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Total METT METT Name Ha Ha Ha Total score score METT of the W (Expe (Expecte (Achi Ha (Baselin (Achi score Prote DP IUCN cted d at CEO eved (Achi e at CEO eved (Achi cted A Cate at Endorse at eved Endorse at eved Area ID gory PIF) ment) MTR) at TE) ment) MTR) at TE)
Indicator 3 Area of land restored
Ha (Expected at Ha (Expected at CEO Ha (Achieved at Ha (Achieved at PIF) Endorsement) MTR) TE)
34987.50 614708.00 0.00 0.00 Indicator 3.1 Area of degraded agricultural land restored
Ha (Expected at Ha (Expected at CEO Ha (Achieved at Ha (Achieved at PIF) Endorsement) MTR) TE)
34,987.50 614,708.00 Indicator 3.2 Area of Forest and Forest Land restored
Ha (Expected at Ha (Expected at CEO Ha (Achieved at Ha (Achieved at PIF) Endorsement) MTR) TE)
Indicator 3.3 Area of natural grass and shrublands restored
Ha (Expected at Ha (Expected at CEO Ha (Achieved at Ha (Achieved at PIF) Endorsement) MTR) TE)
Indicator 3.4 Area of wetlands (incl. estuaries, mangroves) restored
Ha (Expected at Ha (Expected at CEO Ha (Achieved at Ha (Achieved at PIF) Endorsement) MTR) TE)
Indicator 4 Area of landscapes under improved practices (hectares; excluding protected areas)
Ha (Expected at Ha (Expected at CEO Ha (Achieved at Ha (Achieved at PIF) Endorsement) MTR) TE)
70175.00 70125.00 0.00 0.00 Indicator 4.1 Area of landscapes under improved management to benefit biodiversity (hectares, qualitative assessment, non-certified)
Ha (Expected at Ha (Expected at CEO Ha (Achieved at Ha (Achieved at PIF) Endorsement) MTR) TE)
70,175.00 Indicator 4.2 Area of landscapes that meets national or international third party certification that incorporates biodiversity considerations (hectares)
Ha (Expected at Ha (Expected at CEO Ha (Achieved at Ha (Achieved at PIF) Endorsement) MTR) TE)
Type/Name of Third Party Certification Indicator 4.3 Area of landscapes under sustainable land management in production systems
Ha (Expected at Ha (Expected at CEO Ha (Achieved at Ha (Achieved at PIF) Endorsement) MTR) TE)
70,125.00 Indicator 4.4 Area of High Conservation Value Forest (HCVF) loss avoided
Ha (Expected at Ha (Expected at CEO Ha (Achieved at Ha (Achieved at PIF) Endorsement) MTR) TE)
Documents (Please upload document(s) that justifies the HCVF)
Title Submitted
Indicator 6 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Mitigated
(At (At CEO (Achieved (Achieved Total Target Benefit PIF) Endorsement) at MTR) at TE)
Expected metric tons of 0 0 0 0 CO?e (direct) Expected metric tons of 0 0 0 0 CO?e (indirect) Indicator 6.1 Carbon Sequestered or Emissions Avoided in the AFOLU (Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use) sector
(At (At CEO (Achieved (Achieved Total Target Benefit PIF) Endorsement) at MTR) at TE) (At (At CEO (Achieved (Achieved Total Target Benefit PIF) Endorsement) at MTR) at TE)
Expected metric tons of CO?e (direct) Expected metric tons of CO?e (indirect) Anticipated start year of accounting Duration of accounting Indicator 6.2 Emissions Avoided Outside AFOLU (Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use) Sector
(At (At CEO (Achieved (Achieved Total Target Benefit PIF) Endorsement) at MTR) at TE)
Expected metric tons of CO?e (direct) Expected metric tons of CO?e (indirect) Anticipated start year of accounting Duration of accounting Indicator 6.3 Energy Saved (Use this sub-indicator in addition to the sub-indicator 6.2 if applicable)
Energy Energy (MJ) (At Energy (MJ) Energy (MJ) Total Target (MJ) (At CEO (Achieved at (Achieved at Benefit PIF) Endorsement) MTR) TE)
Target Energy Saved (MJ) Indicator 6.4 Increase in Installed Renewable Energy Capacity per Technology (Use this sub-indicator in addition to the sub-indicator 6.2 if applicable)
Capacity Capacity Capacity (MW) Capacity (MW) (MW) (MW) Technolog (Expected at (Expected at CEO (Achieved at (Achieved y PIF) Endorsement) MTR) at TE)
Indicator 11 Number of direct beneficiaries disaggregated by gender as co-benefit of GEF investment
Number Number Number (Expected at Number (Expected at (Achieved at (Achieved PIF) CEO Endorsement) MTR) at TE)
Female 150,000 75,000 Male 150,000 75,000 Total 300000 150000 0 0 Provide additional explanation on targets, other methodologies used, and other focal area specifics (i.e., Aichi targets in BD) including justification where core indicator targets are not provided This project proposes interventions that directly contribute to the following three Aichi targets: ? Target 1: By 2020, at the latest, people are aware of the values of biodiversity and the steps they can take to conserve and use it sustainably; ? Target 5: By 2020, the rate of loss of all natural habitats, including forests, is at least halved and where feasible brought close to zero, and degradation and fragmentation is significantly reduced; and ? Target 7: By 2020 areas under agriculture, aquaculture and forestry are managed sustainably, ensuring conservation of biodiversity. Footnotes on the indicators: Indicator 1-The figure is the sum total of the following: creation of the Protected Area (55,300 ha); conservation of giraffe habitat (55,300 ha);management of the Kandadji Hippo Sanctuary (1,000 ha) Indicator 3- This figure represents the sum total of production landscape that the project will restore, divided as follows: restoration of agricultural land (13,620 ha ); restoration of pastoral grasslands (10,216 ha); restoration of degraded tiger bushes (132,522 ha); and restoration of agroforestry parks (458,350 ha) Indicator 4-70,125 hectares under improved agricultural production systems of smallholder producers Indicator 11- Due to the prevailing security issue and uncertainty on COVID 19 future situation, the ambition as been reviewed. If conditions are favourable during implementation more beneficiaries will be reached and reported in PIR. Part II. Project Justification
1a. Project Description
) The global environmental and/or adaptation problems, root causes and barriers that need to be addressed (systems description) 1. Located in the heart of West Africa and with a total surface area of 1 276 000 km2, the Republic of Niger is a landlocked country surrounded by 7 countries: Algeria and Libya in the north; Mali in the west; Burkina Faso and Benin in the south; Nigeria and Chad in the east. Owing to the adverse climatic and soil conditions, only half of the land is occupied. Administratively, the country is divided into eight regions. Each region is subdivided into Departments, and the Departments are further divided into Communes. The Human Development Index of Niger Republic for the year 2018 was 0.36, ranking 189 out of 189 countries and territories. Niger is therefore, categorised among countries with low human development ? and the country remains one of the poorest countries of the world. 2. The country population is estimated at 23.3 million people in 2020, with a growth rate of 3.3%[1]1 (the rate is one of the highest in the region). The country also has a total fertility index of 7.2 childern per woman in 2019[2]2. The urbanization rate is low (21% in 2011), but increasing steadily. The population of Niger Republic is extremely young (more than 45% are under 20 years).
? Climate: Located in one of the hottest regions in the world, Niger experiences extreme temperatures accompanied by low annual rainfall of less than 800 mm. Rainfall is unequally distributed across the country, and most parts receive less than 100 mm. ? Bio-geographical areas: Niger covers three areas: the Saharan, the Sahelian and the Sudanese areas. The country covers two geo-botanical areas: the Saharo-Sindian in the extreme north and the major part of the country and the Sudano-Zambezian area. The transition between these areas is not clearly determined. ? Economy: Subsistence agriculture and livestock production represent about 40% of the GDP, and about three-quarters of the labor force is employed in the sector. The country is characterized by a particularly harsh climate, and inhabitable swaths of land. Therefore, the country?s most important economic activities are dependent on a sector that is sensitive to the impacts of climate change. ? Land Use: Despite the 40% GDP contribution of the agriculture sector, less than 4% of the country is arable, 9% is permanent pastures and only 2% is forests and woodlands. The country records currently 1,266,000 ha of forests (of which 17% are natural forest) and 3,740,000 ha are other woodlands. ? Agricultural and Livestock Sectors: These are Niger?s mainstay of all but 18% of the population. 14% of Niger?s GDP is generated by livestock (camels, goats, sheep and cattle), and is said to support 29% of the population. 53% of the population is actively involved in crop production. The 15% of Niger?s land that is arable is found mainly along its southern border with Nigeria. Pearl millet, sorghum and cassava are Niger?s principal rain-fed subsistence crops. Average annual production is about 3,500,000 tons of cereals. Cowpeas and onions are grown for commercial export. Sahelo- Sudanian and Sudanian areas in Niger are considered as potentially sedentary areas, in contrast to the northern areas where mainly nomadic activities are practiced. Niger?s agriculture is one of the most vulnerable in the Sahel, as it is exposed to desertification, recurrent droughts, declining rainfall and degradation of natural resources (see section on Niger?s vulnerability to climate change for additional details). About 7.7% of the Niger?s land is officially protected under some form of protected area status.
Project Target Area 3. The chosen landscape for the project is located in the Dallol Bosso in Dosso region and its surrounding areas. The Dallol Bosso is situated in the Dosso region. Located between the Tillab?ri region in the west, the Republic of Benin in the southwest, the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the southeast and the Tahoua region in the east, Dosso covers an area of 31,000 km2 (2.45% of the national territory). Due to its proximity with these neighboring countries, The Dosso region is the main gateway to Niger for convoys and goods from the port of Cotonou, Benin. Dosso is subdivided into eight (8) administrative departments which are: Boboye, Dioundou, Dogondoutchi, Bosso, Falmey, Gaya, Loga and Tibiri. The region is made up of 43 communes, of which 5 are urban and 38 rural communes. The Dosso region has three distinct agro-ecological zones: the Plateaux zone; the Dallols area and the river area. The plateaus are located in the center and north of the region. There are three Dallols: i) the Dallol Bosso found in the departments of Loga, Boboye and Falmey; ii) the Dallol Maouri; and iii) the Dallol Foga. The River Zone borders the Benin Region, at the southernmost end of the Dosso region. The climate of the region is Sahelian with average temperatures ranging from 22?C to 36?C. There is an alternation of three seasons: A rainy season that begins in mid-June and ends in September-October; a dry and cold season that runs from November to February and a dry and hot season that goes from the March-May period. The region of Dosso is the most watered in Niger. Mean rainfall ranges from 600 to less than 1000 mm (SRAT 2015).
4. The major food crises in the region are correlated with rainfall deficits (1984, 1987, 1995 and 2002). This serves to show that the region is highly vulnerable to climate change. The Dosso region has 2,037,713 inhabitants (2012 figures) of which 1,856,527 (91.1%) live in rural areas. Regional average density is 65.7 persons/km2 but some places reach up to 100 persons/km2. The principal socio-economic activities revolve around the agro-silvo-pastoral sector, which employs nearly 90% of the active population. Agriculture is the main economic activity in the region. Of the 2,691,220 ha arable land, 1,600,000 ha are planted with rainfed crops. Millet and cowpea, often grown in association, account for almost 84% of the cultivated area. The remainder is made up of sorghum (8%), peanut (6%) and other crops (2%). Important to note in the region of Dosso is that there are 45 rural firewood markets (as per 2015 records). They are located in the southern part of the region. An estimated 1,754,217 ha is irrigated, mainly located in the Niger River Valley and in the Dallols. Livestock is the second most important economic activity, with an estimated 3,391,638 heads of cattle. 89,434 ha are classified as pastoral lands in the region. The Dosso region has important protected areas (PAs) for the conservation of biodiversity.
5. The PAs include Classified Forests, Protected Forests, and River and Dallol Maouri. The PA estate covers 553,811 ha, 17.86% of the area of the region. There are also 4 RAMSAR sites in the region (see tables below), the Dallol Bosso being one.
Table showing the % PA for biodiversity conservation
Area Size of the area % of the (ha) region Goroubassounga classified forest 9 970 0.32 Bana classified forest 736 0.02 Foga Beri classified forest 4 438 0.14 Koulou classified forest 2 060 0.07 Marigouna-Bella protected forest 140 000 4.52 Bolbol-Tounga protected forest 25 000 0.81 Goumbewa, Tanna Beri, Tanna Kaina, Toudou and Guidel 32 864 1.06 protected forests River and Dallol Maouri R?neraies 32 243 1.04 The Dosso Wildlife Reserve 306 500 9.89 Total region level 553 811 17.86
Table showing RAMSAR Sites in the Dosso Region
Site Size of Date of Location name sites (ha) classification Middle 88 050 17/06/2001 Department of Gaya Niger I Middle 65 850 26/04/2004 Department of Falmey Niger II Dallol 376 162 26/04/2004 Department of Falmey and Boboye Bosso Dallol 318 966 26/04/2004 Extreme southwestern Niger near the border of Nigeria and Maouri Benin and about 25 km south of Gaya
6. The Dallol Bosso is one of the two major seasonal river valleys in southwest Niger. The Dallol Bosso valley runs from the Azawegh area in Sahara west and south through the Dosso Region where it reaches the Niger River Valley. The valley spreads out as the Azawagh depression on the western shadow of the Air Mountains, contracting and feeding a handful of valleys. It is a system of seasonal watercourses and permanent pools in a long-inactive branch of the River Niger associated with a 775-kilometer depression running southward from Mali. The area is classified as the first Hot Spot of land degradation during the Land Degradation Neutrality Targets Settings process. Sandy soils and near-surface aquifer contribute to the agricultural importance of the area and enable the only viable West African giraffe[3]3 (Giraffe camelopardalis spp. peralta, also known as the Peralta giraffe, which is on the IUCN Red List category as Vulnerable species) population. Within the Dallol Bosso, approximately 116,625 ha is referred to as the ?giraffe zone?. The ?giraffe zone? is not a protected area and contains roughly 30 villages with a population of more than 45,000 inhabitants. 7. The habitat that the giraffes occupy in the Dallol Bosso consists of (i) the forest plateaus with contracted vegetation (known as tiger bush) dominated by Combretum micranthum, Guiera senegalensis and Acacia spp.; (ii) the intermediate zone between the slope of the plateau and the bed of the Dallol river; and (iii) the major bed of the Dallol river, Bosso, with forests dominated by Faidherbia albida, Parinari macrophylla, Prosopis africana and Combretum glutinosum[4]4. These giraffes represent the last population of a species once widespread across West Africa. The Peralta giraffes of Niger are now only in their hundreds. During the rainy season they wander on the plateau through in the ?tiger bush? but then descend to the tributaries of the Niger River (the ?Dallols?) in the dry season. Their diet is almost exclusively leaves and branches of trees and shrubs, among which Acacia spp occupy a large part, but on occasion they also consume all kinds of plants (for example, wild melons). Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius, IUCN Red List Category Vulnerable) are also found in reasonable numbers in the river Bosso in the Dallol Bosso.
The hippo sanctuary ? the Kadadji reserve 8. The number 2017-603 PRN/ME/DD decree of the government of Niger decided the establishment of an integral reserve Kandadji Hippo Sanctuary on July 20, 2017. According to article 5 of the Decree, the integral hippo sanctuary is a state protected area, classified as category 1b of the IUCN. That means that the established hippo sactuary is a protected area for the conservation and management of natural resources in Niger. To this end, the Decree includes that the following is prohibited: hunting, forest exploitation, fishing, agricultural production, mining or any mining exploration or surveys and works with the potential to modify the landscape, and the general floral and faunal integrity of the area. Camping, residing as well as trespassing have equally been prohibited.
9. The Kandadji Hippo Sanctuary is subdivided into specific areas under different protection regimes in view of the development objectives, the constraints resulting from the condition of the area and suggestions that considered the needs of the population settled there. These specific areas are:
? Central New Guinea which covers an area of ??121,857 ha or 10% of the total area; ? the buffer zone covering 172 704 ha or 14%; and ? a transitional zone covering 912,439 ha, ie 76%.
10. The purpose of the reserve classification is the conservation of biodiversity including migratory species, the safeguarding of fully protected species, including the hippopotamus, the manatee, the otter, the promotion of eco-system services, the development of eco-tourism activities, scientific research and taking into account issues related to the attack on human- hippo conflict.
11. The results of the count of the hippopotamus population in Niger carried out by the DFC / AP in 2013 confirmed the presence of hippos in the regions of Tillab?ri, Niamey and Dosso. In Tillab?ri, the hippos are present in the Departments of Ayorou, Tillab?ri, T?ra, Goth?ye and Kollo. In the Dosso region, the hippopotamus populations are observed mainly in the Department of Falmey (see the table below).
12. It appears that the largest population is concentrated at the level of the Department of Ayorou, followed by the Departments of Tillab?ri and Kollo. However, it seems that individuals from this population are increasingly seen in the Say Department as well. Studies carried out by MCA-Niger (2018) as part of the development process for the Dosso partial wildlife reserve also highlight that 26 individuals were counted in 2018 in the waters of the commune of Kirtachi and 25 in Falmey commune.
Table showing the distribution of hippos by department in Dosso and Tillaberi
Departement Number of individual hippos observed Ayorou 146 T?ra 24 Tillab?ri 40 Gothey 13 Commune 4 and 3 de Niamey 14 Kollo 67 Falmey 25 TOTAL 329
Figure Map of hippo distribution along the Niger River by department
13. Overall, the major problem in terms of the management of this population is the occupation of bourgouti?res by human activities, particularly for agricultural activities. In fact, most of the hippopotamus' natural pastures are nowadays occupied by rice fields and other agricultural and tree crops. This strong anthropization of the production areas of bourgou (Echinocloa stagnina) which is the main species grazed by hippos can be observed from Ayorou to Boumba, that is, over the entire range of the hippopotamus. It is this occupation of the bourgouti?res by human activities that triggers the hippo-human conflict when the hippos ravage rice fields and other agricultural products. The management / rehabilitation of these natural rangelands appear to be the lasting solution for the resolution of human-hippopotamus conflicts, which are more and more frequent.
14. In this hippo-human conflictual situation in a landscape that is marked by agricultural saturation and the appropriation of bourgouti?res by individuals, the identification and choice of areas or bourgouti?res to be developed calls for upstream consultations and negotiations with communities that directly depend on the landscape for their livelihoods. This will be important to take into consideration in the participatory land use planning. For example, in the Municipality of Falmey, the Mayor has confirmed that consultations and negotiations with communities should foresee mechanisms such as compensation or land buyback measures in land use planning and the implementation of integrated management plans to improve the management of hippos. For the COKEBIOS project, the Falmey and Kirtachi zones seem well suited to conduct such a process. Indeed, for this project, carrying out such activities in these two municipalities would allow it to remain in the zone of concentration of investments and contribute to promoting peaceful coexistence between man and the hippopotamus.
15. With support from Africa Development Bank (AfDB), the government of Niger is constructing the Kandadji Dam, downstream below the Kandadji Hippo Sanctuary. According to an Environmental Impact Assessment report[5]5, the dam will lead to a loss of wetland due to submersion. The report notes that there will be moderate adverse impacts include vegetation losses, ecological and economic costs associated with the water hyacinth invasion, reservoir?s capacity reduction due to the presence of the water hyacinth, sanitary impact of the water hyacinth, loss of habitats for birds, the loss of feeding areas for hippopotamuses and manatees and obstructions to their movement, loss of fish biodiversity upstream, downstream reduction in fish production, and anoxia in the deep layer, which will affect the survival of fish. The dam is part of the Kandadji Ecosystems Regeneration and Niger Valley Development Programme.
Threats to Biodiversity Loss and Causes of Land Degradation
16. The proposed project area suffers from different environmental challenges. General key environmental challenges can be summarized as in the table below:
Key Root Causes Environmental Problems Degradation of -Overexploitation of wood energy; extension of cultivated land; population growth; forest poor agricultural practices; land grabbing; urbanization. resources Degradation of -Use of wood energy; poaching; overexploitation of bourgouti?res; hydro-agricultural fauna and its development; urbanization; road construction; silting of water courses and bodies of habitat water; invasive species; land grabbing; urbanization. Land / soil -Extension of agricultural land; population growth; poor agricultural practices; degradation degradation of forest resources; bush fires.
Pollution -Non-application of the law on imports; marketing and storage of low density plastic bags; decrease in water quality. Lack of -Insufficient knowledge on the dynamics of certain species; overexploitation of species regeneration of (seeds); establishment of cultivated fields; poor land clearing practices certain valuable species
Threats Climate -Degradation of natural resources; urbanization; land use change change and variability Food insecurity, security threat, population growth
17. Pertinent to the PROSAP / COKEBIOS project are the environmental challenges linked to loss of habitat, wildlife conflicts, reduced soil fertility and land productivity, and Climate Change. These are detailed in the sub-sections below.
? Loss of habitat: A 2015 Land Use/Cover Change (LUCC) analysis of Niger shows that a total of 6.12 million ha experienced LUCC, and shrublands and grassland accounted for the largest change. Excluding the desert, 19% of the land in Niger experienced LUCC. Cropland expansion accounted for about 57% of deforestation followed by grassland expansion. Between the years 1990 and 2005, about 679,000 ha of forest have been lost i.e. 34.9% (2.3% loss annually). Land clearing and wood exploitation has led to the collapse of the original vegetation. Forests that occupy about 2% are cleared out to increase agricultural frontiers. In terms of energy needs, about 80% of the country?s energy consumption is fuelwood and other traditional fuels. The capital city, Niamey, alone consumes more than 11,000 tons of fuelwood per year. The tiger bush rangelands in Niger showed a steady decrease in woody plants between 2003 and 2012. Proximity to roads also facilitate the transport of fuelwood to nearby towns. Tiger bush rangelands in Niger are exploited to provide fuelwood and charcoal to Niamey and smaller towns along the Niger River. Due to its proximity to Niamey, Dallol Bosso is heavily impacted by fuelwood harvesting, ant this significantly affects the level of available food for giraffes but also the habitat particularly during the wet season. Additionally, the expansion of agricultural fields in the Dallols also reduces the browsing habitat of giraffes in the dry season, as well as the grazing habitat of hippopotamus.
? Human-wildlife Conflict: Due to anthropogenic pressures (clearing of land, cultivation of rangelands), the tiger bush is heavily degraded and so are the soils thereby forcing giraffes to feed on food crops of local communities.Increasingly, they have been feeding on crops such as beans forcing their way to households in search of food ? this breeds conflicts with communities. Human-wildlife conflict has also been experienced with hippopotamus, as hippos destroy crops (particularly rice fields) and compete for fodder with livestock. Human-Hippopotamus encounters (on river and on land) frequently result in deaths of humans, resulting in retaliating slaugthers of hippos.
? Reduced Soil Fertility and Land Productivity: According to Niger?s LDN target setting report, the Dallol Bosso is the first land degradation hot spot and is characterized by very poor soil in terms of carbon content. It is the area with the most degraded areas which include bare land, rocky areas and sand dunes. 80% of the Dallol Bosso basin soils have carbon content ranging from 0 to 14 tonnes/ha, and 70% of the area is covered with barren lands.[6]6
? The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) conducted interviews with farmers in four regions in Niger (Dosso, Maradi, Tahoua, Zinder) in 2017[7]7. 79% of the farmers identified that the main cause of degradation of cultivated lands was the overexploitation of land, with other causes identified being lack of inputs, especially manure and tree cutting. Additionally, the general reduction in cultivable land has shrunk the rotation cycle to less than 2 years - severely affecting the soil fertility status. The ecological balance is characteristically fragile. The combination of climatic shifts and anthropogenic pressure are responsible for drastic environmental changes in this harsh environment.[8]8 For instance, the country is facing its fourth major drought-related emergency in less than ten years. The current crisis is the result of late and erratic rainfall, which has decreased harvests by 25%; leading to increased land pressure and prices of staple crops and the expansion of food insecurity. Livestock, the main wealth of the affected rural population, is also affected by frequent forage deficit in the pastoral zone.
? Climate Change: Niger has been significantly affected by climate change, particularly with regards to food security as demonstrated by the three major food shortages in the last 10 years. The biggest impact of climate change in Niger includes an increase in the frequency of droughts, resulting in the decrease in agricultural production, and associated increase in grazing pressure on pastoral ecosystems, and consequently soil erosion on a mass scale. Reduced food supply and income from agriculture as a result of climate change will continue to increase the incidence of malnutrition and famine across the country. Additional socio-economic impacts of reduced agricultural yields as a result of variable climatic factors include such effects as reduction in income, land conflicts and deepening of rural poverty.[9]9
Barriers 18. As a Party to several multilateral environmental agreements, the Republic of Niger has been pursuing development intervention avenues to address threats to biodiversity loss and causes of land degradation as detailed above. These are associated with the loss of habitat and human-wildlife conflict in productive areas that are able to support livelihoods as well as wildlife. Biodiversity loss and causes of land degradation are also linked to reduced soil fertility and land productivity and the impacts of climate change, a phenomenon that has continued to compromise the productive capacity of ecosystems that are a lifeline of local livelihoods and wildlife. In the face of this complex mix of challenges, the country also continues to face various barriers to addressing biodiversity loss through improved management of wildlife and the Dallol Bosso production landscape that is at the core of human-wildlife conflict, but also one that is a hotspot of land degradation due to expansion of agricultural fields, burgeoning population, climate change and variability, and deforestation for fuelwood. In the context of this project, the most pertinent barriers are related to lack of appropriate legal and institutional frameworks to improve interventions to reverse the trends in biodiversity loss and land degradation, financial constraints, technological constraints to to reduce post-harvest losses and pressure on natural resources ? given that post-harvest losses encourages more food production, thereby more exploitation of natural resources because land users are forced to produce more to maintain the same level of output. The barriers are detailed in the section below:
Barrier 1: Lack of an overarching framework and capacity to realize Niger?s Land Degradation Neutrality commitment
19. Niger committed to achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) by 2030 and reducing the area of degraded land from 9% to 5%, by among others, increasing vegetation cover from 17% to 19% and sustainably improving the living conditions of the people. Through this commitment to achieving LDN, Niger seeks to restore 44% (4,440,500 ha) of the 10,761,076 ha of land that were degraded in 2010; reduce to 2% (252,101 ha) the area of cultivated lands showing negative trends on net primary productivity; reduce from 1% (100,074.3 ha) to 0% the annual rate of forest/savanna/wetland conversion into other types of land; halt sand encroachment and water erosion (gully erosion) along the Niger river; and sequester 292,000 tons of carbon in the ground and/or biomass through good agroforestry practices (windbreak system, hedges, assisted natural regeneration, forage bank, food bank, etc.)[10]10 In order to realise these ambitious LDN targets, several Government Ministries and other government structures need to work more closely and collaborate in planning and monitoring activities. These include: The High Commission of ?3N? (Nigerien Nourissent les Nigeriens ? Nigerien Feed Nigerien) under the Presidency and which represents the President political national agenda for the development and includes all sectors particularly the environment restoration issues. the Ministry of Environment , Urban Sanitation and Sustainable Development, the Ministry of Animal Resources, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Planning, Territorial Management and Community Development, the Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation; and the National Council of the Environment for Sustainable Development (CNEDD), which is attached to the Prime Minister?s office. A coordinating and monitoring structure needs to be established and capacities built in order to support LDN integration in future plans and projects as well as into existing plans. The current weak tenure rights of communities in certain regions should also be addressed in order for rural communities and the private sector to invest in SLM practices. There is also a need to pilot a new integrated approach of integrating LDN into regional land management plans to inform and guide future project/programme development to maximize opportunities for LDN and SLM implementation across the country ? supporting relevant institutional structures at different administrative tiers in the country.
Barrier 2: Lack of legislative and financial incentives to promote biodiversity conservation in the Dallol Bosso landscape
20. The Giraffe Zone does not have the status of protected area - compromising the legal implementation of conservation interventions that ensure for example, joint wildlife conservation initiaties that promote the well-being of both wildlife and rural human communities. Due to lack of legal status, there are no concerted policy provisions and development impetus to frame land use plans to minimize human-wildlife conflict, and to support investments in socioeconomic development for wildlife conservation. With the burgeoning population that is dependent on the exploitation of natural resources, agriculture and animal production constitute the main economic mainstay for communities in Giraffe Zone of Niger. Niger acknowledges the economic ripple effects of improving the management of the Giraffe Zone ? and therefore, has been pursuing legal means and financial support to establish the Giraffe Zone as a protected area so that the zone can be fully integrated in the national economic development and planning process for sustainable development that contributes to biodiversity conservation. However, a total lack of legislation in the Dallol Bosso landscape and surrounding areas to properly manage protected areas and wildlife in general is a disservice to the potential of the giraffe zone and hippo sanctuary to attract investments. Additionally, without legislation, land use planning to inform development initiatives has equally been hampered ? which further catalyses natural resource degradation and human-wildlife conflict. 21. It is reiterated here that the region of Dallol Bosso is a complex landscape ? a habitat of giraffes, and an area of agricultural crop production and pastoralism for the local population and beyond. It is an area that typifies a human-environment interaction where the survival and sustainability of the socio-ecological system hinges on rehabilitating and restoring the landscape that has severely been degraded due to anthropogenic activities and the corrosive impacts of climate change that continue rendering the landscape more and more fragile. It is an area where human-wildlife conflicts are not uncommon. The survival of biodiversity at both floral and faunal levels, as well as the sustainability of livelihoods for local communities depends on the integrity and productive capacity of the landscape. Improving the management of natural resources that underpin the survival of both wildlife and communities has huge potential in investment initiatives that will conserve giraffes as well as hippos. 22. Furthermore, targeted investments in strategic approaches to natural resources management in general, and wildlife conservation in particular are an exception rather than a norm in an area of strategic local, national and global environmental importance. This is linked to the gaps in legislation. 23. In terms of project programming approach at landscape level, there has generally been little focus on the ecosystem approach to forest and biodiversity conservation issues in the baseline projects. Most fundamentally, there has hardly been any project that has combined conservation of biodiversity in the region with economic incentives to unlock the eco-tourism potential of the area. Thus, there is a need to tailor interventions to reflect the socio-economic and environmental challenges, but also the potential of the region so as to increase the transformational impact of the project. In sum, lack of legislation and financial incentives are a barrier to targeted efforts to demonstrate land restoration and wildlife conservation in Dallol Bosso and surrounding areas.
Barrier 3: Lack of innovative approaches to addressing heightened levels of post harvest losses in the Dallol Bosso region
24. To maintain the same level of food requirements, communities have to bring more land under production ? thereby exploiting more natural resources but also increasing chances for human- wildlife conflicts. For example, in the Dosso region, post-harvest losses are estimated at 25%, 24.5%, 24% and 19% for onion, Neocarya macrophylla, fish and rice, respectively. With its fragile production landscapes, ensuring food security and sustainable production of food are policy priorities in Niger. However, at the national-level, post-harvest losses (PHL) are as high as 50%, on average. PHL are in terms of value loss in both quantity and quality of food production from harvest to consumption. In this regard, quality losses relate to loss of nutrient and caloric composition, the acceptability, and the edibility of agricultural products. Quantity losses relate to those that result in the loss of the amount of agricultural products. PHL happen along all stages of the value chains of agricultural products. Mainly, these are: harvesting and handling at harvesting; threshing; drying, transport and distribution; storage; primary processing (cleaning, classification, hulling, pounding, grinding, packaging, soaking, winnowing, drying, sieving, milling); secondary processing (mixing, cooking, frying, molding, cutting, extrusion); product evaluation and quality control; packaging; and marketing (selling, distribution). Critical factors that contribute to PHL are internal and external. Internal factors include undeveloped maturity indices for key agricultural products, lack of pre-cooling systems and accompanying technical training, poor infrastructure including inappropriate transport systems, lack of long-term storage facilities, lack of proper packing and packaging technologies (including labelling), and biological and microbiological deterioration which compromise the taste of products. In sum, PHL in Niger in general, and in the Dallol Bosso in particular is due to limited and non-availability of suitable varieties for processing, lack of appropriate processing technologies, inadequate commercialization of new technologies and lack of basic infrastructure, inadequate facilities and infrastructure, and insufficient promotion of processed products in the Dallol Bosso region. External factors are related to biophysical characteristics of the region, particularly higher temperatures and time because the longer the time the food is stored the greater is the deterioration in quality and the greater is the chance of damage and loss. Due to some of these factors, producers are forced to sell their products by a certain time before waiting for the time when their products can fetch a better price. In sum, high post-harvest losses encourage the exploitation of natural resources that fuels land degradation but also human-wildlife conflict in the project area.
Barrier 4: Lack of enabling environment and capacity to reduce post-harvest losses in the Dallol Bosso region
25. Niger has in the past years endeavoured to build political momentum around addressing food security. Recently, the Head of State announced that Niger should become self-sufficient in the production of rice, and will stop importing rice in 2023.[11]11 However, to realise this particularly for rice which is an important crop, the country is still lagging behind in capacity development to ensure that PHL are reduced. Smallholder producers lack capacities to manage PHL in ways that can reduce the social, economic and environmental implications. Lack of community-level capacities is exacerbated by lack of trained extension officers to support smallholder producers in appropriate PHL. Consequently, as noted above, PHL are as high as 50%. During stakeholder consultations with community members, several smallholder producers of rice echoed lack of capacity to improve their shredding in ways that do not compromise the appearance to lower the price. PHL in the Dallol Bosso region has compromised the livelihoods of farmers and other value chain actors, jeopardising nutritional security and production diversity, leading to over-exploitation of natural resources and the broader environment. Food loss and waste generates more than four times as much annual greenhouse gas emissions as aviation, and is comparable to emissions from road transport.[12]12 Therefore, given the elevated level of PHL, the emission levels are significant. 26. Linked to barrier 3, barrier 4 is concerned with the enabling environment and capacities in terms of technical know-how to handle elevated levels of PHL from factors identified under barrier 3, but also PHL associated with pest and disease outbreaks in the region. The level of extension service is minimal due to financial constraints. Therefore, smallholder producers who constitute the majority of land users lack the technical know-how to support adoption of PHL reduction technologies and practices, but also to handle pest and disease outbreaks. 27. To support Niger?s efforts in overcoming these barriers, this project is designed around four components addressing each of these barriers. The project also proposes a suite of activities under each component to address different elements of the barriers. As detailed in the section on baseline scenario and associated baseline projects below, proposed project components and associated activities build on previous and on-going interventions to synergise with them for impactful and coordinated outcomes that yield both global environmental benefits as well as socio-economic benefits for local communities. Proposed components seek to enhance national capacity for LDN implementation; improve biodiversity conservation and land degradation actions in the Dallol Bosso landscape; promote improved production practices of key selected agricultural value chains; and create an enabling environment and build capacity at local level to manage post-harvest losses.
2) The baseline scenario and associated baseline projects
28. The ecological balance of Niger is critically fragile owing to the general biophysical and climate characteristics of the country. The government has been taking development initiatives to address challenges posed to the socio-ecological system. This with the view to sustaining people?s livelihoods, but also to address environmental concerns. The country recognises the how heavily dependent communities are on the exploitation of natural resources. However, the country also recognises that natural resources need to be managed better for them to continue sustaining livelihoods and the national economy. This is consistent with the country?s global commitments through various multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) to which the country is a signatory. 29. In Niger, MEAs collectively serve as a strategic framework to improve and sustain food security and sustainable land management. Niger is also involved in platforms and partnerships aimed at increasing agricultural productivity, reducing deforestation, and implementing sustainable land management practices. These platforms include: The AFR100 partnership; the Bonn Challenge and New York Declaration on Forests; the Global Alliance for Intelligent Agriculture in Climate; the World Food Council; the Sahelo-Saharan Initiative on the Great Green Wall, the African Initiative to Combat Desertification and the Commission for the Sahel region. In 2018 the country committed to achieving its LDN targets by 2030 by reducing the area of degraded land from 9% to 5%. This would translate into increasing vegetation cover from 17% to 19% while simultaneously sustainably improving the living conditions of the people. Through these and other platforms, the Government of Niger aims to enhance the forestry sector?s contribution to agricultural production systems - improving food and water security and creating more opportunities for employment and climate-resilient livelihoods especially on rice and meat production. 30. Niger is also the last bastion of the Peralta giraffe, already on the IUCN Red List as endangered. The Peralta giraffe has enormous untapped potential to contribute to the development of eco-tourism at the local level in the Dallol Bosso region but also at the national level. To improve the potential of eco-tourism development in the region, the giraffe zone needs to gain a legal status to guide its management for the benefit of local populations, foreign exchange at the national level, attract investments, improve biodiversity conservation and land use planning to improve land management. 31. In recognition of this context, the government of Niger has been investing its national resources from the National budget in support of the interventions related to biodiversity conservation and land restoration but also partnering with different development agencies. The National Government baseline activities and investments in the project area include: o Budget expenses authorization to regional departments of environment for the monitoring of giraffe and Hippos populations monitoring; o Department of Wildlife, Hunting, Parks and Reserves conduct regular ecological monitoring with support from National Budget. In addition of staff time investment, these activities include equipments provided by the government for ecological monitoring; o The Regional Departments of Environments receive on annual basis financial resources from the National Budget through delegation of authorization for expenses, resources for land restoration; o The Regional Council is investing resources in all the project areas municipalities to support the development of Communal Development Plans (CDP). These plans will provide adequate considerations for biodiversity conservation namely the giraffeand Hippos populations.
32. As bilateral, multilateral and CSO partners baselines, a number of projects have recently been implemented in the region, while others are on-going or are under development. Of relevance to this project, the baseline projects in Dosso include the following:
? Project to strengthen the resilience of rural communities to food and nutrition insecurity in Niger (PRECIS): With an overall goal to improve the food and nutrition security of rural households in a sustainable way and to strengthen their resilience to the socio-economic shocks of climate change and natural resource degradation, PRECIS is an IFAD-implemented project that covers 186 municipalities in the Dosso, Tahoua, Maradi and Zinder regions. In terms of population, the project's intervention regions have about 12.5 million inhabitants, or 57.3% of the national population, with an average density of 36 inhabitants per km2, well above the national average (17 inhabitants per km2). It is focused on sustainable agricultural development and building the resilience of rural households, and promoting entrepreneurship and market access. The proposed project will build on community structures that have been mobilised by PRECIS, and leverage existing efforts to improve food security through irrigation systems, capacity building to reduce post-harvest losses and handling of disease and pest outbreaks.
? Line of credit for low emission and climate resilient smallholder agriculture: The objective of this project is to increase resilience of smallholders to climate change, Farmer Organisations (FOs) including youth and women organizations, cooperatives and small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Niger to climate change by removing barriers to access financial and non-financial services for adopting and implementing best adaptation measures in agriculture and Ecosystem-Based Adaptation (EbA) and the use of Renewable Energy Technologies (RETs) for agriculture through incentives schemes. This is an ?8.5 million GCF-IFAD project that is focused on innovative financing mechanism to foster the best adaptation practices and use of renewable energy along agricultural value chains, capacity-building and technical assistance for forest organisations, cooperatives and micro, MSMEs, National Agricultural Development Bank (BAGRI) and Micro Finance institutions (MFIs), and incentive scheme to encourage MFIs, FOS, cooperatives and MSMEs to adopt adaptation and mitigation measures. The proposed project will learn from the experiences of this project?s interventions in value chains in Niger, and integrate the lessons in Dallol Bosso. Additionally, it will learn from this project?s experience with the private sector in value chains with smallholder producers.
? Restoration of degraded green belts and trees planting along the streets in the city of Niamey, Niger: The overall objective of the project is to improve the living conditions and well-being of the populations of the city of Niamey through the establishment and maintenance of trees plantations of multi-purpose woody species in the degraded parts of the Niamey green belt. The project seeks to enhance the landscape and the environment, promotes biodiversity, and sequesters atmospheric carbon to mitigate climate change impacts and to promote the ecological restoration of degraded areas, and to improve the living conditions and well-being of local populations through the development of forestry and agroforestry and forest recreation to enhance the Niamey green belt ecosystem services and goods. The lessons from this project that will be primary interest to the proposed project concerns community mobilization around conservation projects that benefit local communities ? that is, how communities can be mobilized to be stewards of their own environment without necessary getting direct benefits in monetary terms.
? Sustainable land management project: This is a $2 million Federal Ministry of Economic Development and Cooperation(BMZ)-World Resources Institute (WRI) project in 5 African countries including Niger?s giraffe zone of the Dallol Bosso region that is focusing on developing restoration action plans (setting a target for land restoration and lead a participatory process to develop restoration action plans at subnational level together with (subnational) governments); sharing knowledge and replicating successful restoration interventions (use the 100 Landscapes platform to showcase landscapes that are successfully restoring land, deliver targeted communications through radio, print media, and short videos to drive replication of what?s working, and facilitate twice-yearly coordination meetings of donor/Implementers on FLR); increasing financial resource flows into the region (host investor roundtables, i.e. ?matchmaking? events, develop briefings on funders active in relevant sectors, and support development of GEF and/or GCF proposals, where requested by countries); and setting baselines and monitor progress (establish vegetation baselines at sub-national level in all countries, using the Collect Earth tool where appropriate, build capacity of subnational governments to track and report progress against these baselines and assess impact from restoration, and report these results to national governments and through the AFR100 Secretariat). This project will be important to PROSAP/COKEBIOS in bringing together different stakeholder around sustainable land management in Niger. Additionally, the project will synergise with PROSAP/COKEBIOS in terms of time but also the focus on land restoration in Dallol Bosso and community engagement in natural resources management in the region.
? Support Program for Sustainable Agricultural Development in the Bosso Region: This is an ?18.8 million 2016 ? 2020 project funded by the Luxembourg Cooperation (?13.4 million) and the government of the Republic of Niger (?5.4 million). It focuses on restoration of degraded soils; developing of agricultural food chains in 29 municipalities (rice, gardening, groundnuts and infrastructure development such as roads, warehouse and selling points); capacity development of partner business entities and technology services; training and capacity developing targeting the youth and offering subsidised credits to promising entrepreneurs. The project has important lessons for PROSAP/COKEBIOS in terms of value chains, community mobilization and land restoration in Dallol Bosso.
? Support Program for Livestock Development: This is 4 year ?16 million project funded by the Kingdom of Belgium and the Republic of Niger. The project seeks to improve domesticated animal value chains by building capacities of pastoral communities and improving their resilience, improving the governance of the animal sector, securisation and development of pastoral areas. It is being implemented in 6 wards/departments in the region of Dosso. The project is linked to PROSAP/COKEBIOS in its focus on value chains, and therefore, PROSAP/COKEBIOS will draw important lessons regarding meat value chains and community mobilization around improved management of production landscapes.
? Climate Risk Sensitive Agriculture Support Project (PASEC): This project is a $111 million project (2017 ? 2022) that is promoting irrigating in 5 regions, including the region of Dallol Bosso. It is promoting land restoration initiatives and supporting the creation of pieces of infrastructure to improve pastoral activities in the 5 regions. This project provides valuable lessons at many levels. The proposed project will build on and leverage PASEC?s interventions in irrigation and land restoration, areas of interventions that are closely related to PROSAP/COKEBIOS.
Linkages with other GEF and non-GEF interventions
33. The baseline scenario has revealed the level of interventions in the project catchment area. The interventions focus mainly on livelihoods and food security, agriculture (both crop and livestock production) and sustainable land management. Little attention has been paid to the window of opportunity for integrated landscape approaches that will address biodiversity, land degradation and livelihoods in a holistic manner. In this regard, the socioeconomic and environmental challenges persist. The project will build on the experiences and lessons of the on-going initiatives so as not to duplicate efforts, but leverage and sustain their achievements. The ecosystem services that will ensue from the project will include biodiversity restoration and conservation; contribute to improving water resources management, sustainable agricultural practices and improvement of the management of giraffes and hippos. Projects aligned with this project that have GEF grants include the following: ? Integrating Climate Resilience into Agricultural and Pastoral Production for Food Security in Vulnerable Rural Areas through the Farmers Field School Approach: This is a $3.8 million GEF/FAO country project that seeks to enhance the capacity of Niger?s agricultural and pastoral sectors to cope with climate change, by mainstreaming climate change adaptation concerns and strategies into on-going agricultural development initiatives and mainstreaming climate change adaptation issues into agricultural policies and programming. Its components focus on integrating improved climate-resilient agricultural practices, capacity building and promotion of agricultural practices through Farmer Field Schools, and mainstreaming climate change adaptation strategies into agriculture sector policies and programs.
? LCB-NREE Niger child project: Improving sustainable management of natural resources in Niger?s Diffa region: This is a $3.3 million GEF/AfDB project to enhance agro-sylvo- pastoralism and landscape productivity in Niger?s Diffa region by rehabilitating agro and forest ecosystems in support of food security and environmental protection. Its components focus on improving agro-pastoral management and productivity in drylands, natural habitat protection to ensure ecosystem services from the landscape, and Improving and consolidating knowledge, data and monitoring.
? Integrated Management of Oasis Ecosystems of Northern Niger (IMOE -NN): This is a $4.6 million GEF/UNEP country project with the development objective to integrate natural resource management in development priorities to alleviate land degradation, address loss of biodiversity, reduce emission of GHGs, maintain forest and oasis ecosystem services and improve livelihoods in the Air Massif of Niger. Its components are focused on enhancing the enabling environment for oasis and arid valley forests ecosystem conservation in Niger; integrated landscape planning for oasis and arid valley forests and capacity development for SFM within local communities; and oasis and arid valley forests ecosystem conservation measures.
? Large-scale Assessment of Land Degradation to guide future investment in SLM in the Great Green Wall countries: This is a $2 million GEF/UNEP regional project to assess available tools and methodology for scientific measurement of the ecological impacts of land degradation and SLM practices to guide future investment decisions in the Great Green Wall Initiative (GGWI) region. It involves Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Niger and Senegal. It has two components: comprehensive analysis of LD processes and SLM practices and programs in selected countries in the GGWI region; and monitoring and knowledge management systems for LD and SLM in the selected GGWI countries. As a pan-African programme launched by the African Union in 2007, the GGWI programme has a goal to reverse land degradation and desertification in the Sahel and Sahara, boost food security and support local communities to adapt to climate change.
? Scaling up Community-Based Adaptation (CBA) in Niger: This is a $3.8 million GEF/UNDP project to strengthen the responsiveness and adaptive capacity of administrative/technical support services at the commune-level to enable generation of a critical mass of climate resilient communities and achieve more climate resilient economies in Maradi region, Republic of Niger. Its components focus on administrative and technical support services at the commune-level trained in climate risk management, and implementation of measures to build adaptive capacities of communities.
Links with other initiatives
34. Saving the last West African giraffe: Focusing on the southern tip of the giraffe zone area, this project will be implemented by the Wildlife Africa Conservation in partnership with the Niger Wildlife Authority, Contribution ? la Gestion des Zones Humides du Niger (COGEZOH) and the Giraffe Conservation Foundation from January 2021 to December 2021. Funded by the European Union with ?99,854.26, the overall objective of the project is to secure the last population of West African giraffe in the southern part of its distribution range. In collaboration with Park W, the project is phased to train personnel, create enabling conditions, improve surveillance capacities and patrol in response to the security threats in the southern part of the giraffe distribution range of Niger. PROSAP/COKEBIOS will closely work with this project and build on giraffe conservation experiences of the project partners, and the the project?s community mobilization around conservation of giraffes. Additionally, PROSAP/COKEBIOS will build on the project during participatory land use planning processes. 35. Great Green Wall Umbrella Programme (GGW Up): This is a GCF-funded regional programme that will involve 11 countries in the Great Green Wall belt - from Senegal and Mali in the West to Ethiopia and Djibouti in the East. IFAD will lead the setup of the programme and ensure its coordination with other partners to leverage up to a total of $1 billion in multi-partner resources for the GGW in 2021 and 2022. The GGW Up initiative contributes directly to the Great Green Wall Accelerator, a wider initiative led by France to realise the GGW targets by 2030. The GGW Up will support land restoration and the sustainable management of natural resources, scaling up existing investments in the GGW by other partners over the last 12 years. Small-scale farmers and agribusinesses will have better access to markets and strengthened value chains, creating economic opportunities and jobs, through the development of climate-resilient infrastructure and expanding the use of solar energy. 36. It should be noted that PROSAP CokeBIOS is an independent project in terms of activity execution and budgeted work plans. The above mentioned projects will however, remain important in shaping the current project - there will be exchange of information and lessons (synergies) to avoid duplication of efforts. In sum, the interaction of the projects will be at the level of synergies rather than implementation modalities. 3) The proposed alternative scenario with a brief description of expected outcomes and components of the project
37. The objective of the project is to strengthen national, regional and municipal capacity and actions to implement an integrated ecosystem management approach in the Dallol Bosso landscape in Niger. In the heuristic structure of the LDN conceptual framework,[13]13 the project is designed to address module D: Elements necessary to achieve neutrality; of the LDN framework as it will help the country to include the LDN targets in regional and local land use planning and implement certain measures to reverse land degradation.
This is embedded in the broader Theory of Change of the project that recognises the Dallol Bosso and surrounding areas as an important production landscape of local communities, but also a home to the last West African giraffes. Human-wildlife conflicts, biodiversity loss and land degradation are typical of the landscape that is also a habitat of the remaining <700 individuals of West African giraffes that are of national and global significance. The vicious cycle of human poverty vs natural-resource dependence will only increase as population growth, urbanization, poor agricultural practices and pollution continue. To address this natural management challenge in the Dallol Bosso, the theory of change of this project is to reconcile the conservation of endangered wildlife with meeting local livelihoods tied to the exploitation of vulnerable but also degraded production landscape - through PA creation accompanied with management plans, support alternative livelihoods, sustainable agricultural production systems and actual restoration of degraded areas.
38. In response to the above scenario, the proposed project is conceived around four components that consistently build on each other as described below:
Component 1 : National Capacity enhancement for integrated landscape management approaches to integrate LDN and BD conservation into development planning 39. Component 1 will address institutional challenges to implement integrated landscape management approaches to integrate LDN and BD conservation into development planning. To address the land degradation and associated threats on biodiversity, Niger through its LDN target setting has committed to restoring 44% of the 10,761,076 ha of degraded land; reducing to 2% the area of cultivated lands showing negative trends of net primary productivity; reducing from 1% to 0% the annual rate of forest / savanna/wetland conversion into other types of land; halting sand encroachment and water erosion (gully erosion) along the Niger river; and sequestering 292,000 tons of carbon in the ground and/or biomass through good agroforestry practices.
40. In order to strengthen BD conservation with the creation of PA but also so as to meet the ambitious LDN targets set by the government by 2030, and taking into account the guidelines developed by GEF STAP and UNCCD Science and Policy Interface (SPI)[14]14, the project will set up a multi-sector planning platform that will comprise institutions with sectoral responsibilities in the achievement of the (LDN) targets and biodiversity conservation in the country ? thus, the platform providing an opportunity to strengthen the link between land degradation and biodiversity loss (both flora and fauna) among stakeholders. Through the platform (that will take the form of a committee) that will hold frequent meetings, discussions will primarily focus on mechanisms to ensure the best use of resources and define policy and legislation in order to achieve the LDN targets. The committee will regularly be briefed about the implementation of the various government and partners? projects which are aligned with reaching the LDN targets and biodiversity conservation. Therefore, this project under this component is designed to enhance national capacities that are consistent with supporting the implementation of the LDN intervention.
Component 1 has one outcome:
Outcome 1.1 Government of Niger adopt and implement new integrated landscape management approaches to integrate LDN and BD conservation into development planning targeted at twin goal: sustainable land management using integrated landscape management approaches leads to improved flow of agro-ecosystem services, and reduce pressure on natural resources. To achieve the outcome and contribute to achieving the twin goal, the project plans five related outputs.
Output 1.1.1 Providing training, tools and technical assistance with due gender equity consideration to national line ministries to improve the technical capacities and policy coherence/alignment of LDN with national development planning using integrated approach: Following the LDN target setting exercise in Niger, this project will pioneer technical capacity development in the country to strengthen the country?s course towards implementing interventions for its LDN targets. Thus, the project will build capacities of key stakeholders with due considerations of the gender dimensions of the LDN agenda. In addition to capacity development, the project will support the integration of the LDN agenda in key policy processes to mainstream LDN in development priorities.
Output 1.1.2 Developing data and monitoring system hub regarding SLM/LDN indicators and subindicators to showcase successful LDN implementation[15]15: As part of this monitoring work, the project will also assist in the establishment of an information hub and information systems regarding SLM practices under the auspices of the Ministry of Environment and Fight Against Desertification. The information hub will assist in providing a profile of successful LDN implementation, and provide the LDN target committee with an easily accessible tool to track the evolution of LDN-related interventions towards the targets. The monitoring of SLM will also afford the project the ability to draw on lessons to build a knowledge base to share among stakeholders to support scaling up efforts and replication in areas with similar characteristics.
Output 1.1.3 Building capacities of key institutions particularly those linked to the Ministry of Environment and Fight Against Desertification, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, the National Center for Ecological and Environmental Monitoring (CNSEE) to support integrated approaches by implementing sustainable land management that will yield positive outcomes in terms of improving the flow of agro-ecosystem services to sustain food production and livelihoods and but also reducing pressure on resources. These institutions will be capacitated in SLM monitoring, restoration and maintenance of functional landscapes taking into consideration the STAP/SPI guidelines on LDN framework: The process of LDN target setting is a consultative process, and so is the process of implementation. Therefore, the project will build capacities and develop tools to support key stakeholders in the LDN/SLM monitoring, restoring and maintenance of production landscapes. The capacities will also enable the smooth scaling up and implementation of lessons learnt from this project in other regions in the country.
Output 1.1.4 Strengthening institutional and legal frameworks to secure land tenure rights which enhance LDN implementation[16]16: The strengthening will draw on FAO VGGT - Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security, and will primarily focus on the Rural Code in which traditional leaders have an important stake. It should be noted recalled here that secure land tenure rights strengthen sustainable land management practices, including reducing pressure on land resources through overexploitation. It is widely documented in land tenure literature the link between strengthened tenure rights and the willingness of land-users to invest in sustainable land use practices. In Niger, traditional leaders are guarantors of customary land rights and hold conciliation power to resolve rural land disputes.[17]17 Additionally, national deputies and their institutional strucutures will also be targeted. National deputies are representatives of the people and hold power through their responsibility of voting on laws, which are fundamental instruments for the implementation of the future land policy. Consistent with the LDN agenda, the project will seek to strengthen institutional and legal frameworks at a national level to secure land tenure rights. The need for strengthening land tenure rights is recognized as pivotal in ensuring long-term community and private sector investments in SLM but also in the overall LDN implementation agenda.
Output 1.1.5 Developing Integrated Landscape Management Plan on 614,708 ha of land and relevant regulations and rules around LDN for the Dallol Bosso landscape to showcase integrating LDN and BD conservation into development planning: The project under this component, will integrate LDN and biodiversity conservation into development process through the development of the Integrated Landscape Management Plan for the Dallol Bosso landscape. This will be steered by the LDN target committee and municipal councils. It will involve all relevant stakeholders, including local stakeholders so that the Plan reflects their land use priorities, but also to increase the chances of the successful implementation of the Plan. The Plan will inform decision-making processes to optimize the use of land in terms of biodiversity conservation, ecosystem services and socio-economic development.
Under this output, the project acknowledges the pivotal role that land plays in the socioeconomic wellbeing of land users in Dosso and surrounding areas. The project also acknowledges the competing land uses of the landscape that is not only for rural livelihoods but also a habitat for the only remaining giraffes in West Africa. Participatory land-use planning will ensure that local land users are given the opportunity to play a key role in decision-making processes regarding the land and resources they use and depend upon. The process of doing participatory land-use planning will bring stakeholders together to develop a common vision and to agree upon a way forward, including resolution mechanisms for land-use conflict. The process will mainstream community members ranging from women, the youth to pastoralists who directly depend on the Dallol Bosso landscape for their socioeconomic wellbeing. Consistent with standard practice,[18]18 carrying out land-use planning on 614,708 ha of land will follow but adapt the following eight iterative steps:
o Step 1: Constitute a participatory land-use planning committee or group that includes community members within Dallol Bosso and surrounding areas within the 614,708 ha of land; o Step 2: Identify specific objectives; o Step 3: Collect and analyse data; o Step 4: Identify and analyse problems; o Step 5. Identify and agree solutions; o Step 6: Prepare the participatory land-use planning; o Step 7: Develop a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system; and o Step 8: Present the participatory land-use planning and finalize.
41. Through the implementation of component 1, the overall impact will be: National, regional and local-level policy and institutional structures mainstream landscape management approaches into development planning and decision-making processes to implement both the LDN national agenda and BD conservation in the country.
Component 2: Improved Biodiversity Conservation and Land Degradation Actions in the Dallol Bosso Landscape 42. Based on the results of the Integrated Landscape Management Plan (ILMP) for the Dallol Bosso landscape developed under Component 1, the Giraffe Zone will be established as a protected area (IUCN Protected Area Management Category VI) (output 2.1.1). The establishment of the protected area is founded on the following fundamental conservation considerations: (i) the Giraffe Zone represents a habitat and associated ecosystems of adequate size that will ensure the long-term viability and maintenance of biological and genetic diversity of giraffes, hippos and various floral species in the area; (ii) the Giraffe Zone represents a habitat of productivity of ecosystems and natural resources that provide socio- economic benefits and upon which the welfare of local inhabitants is dependent; and (iii) the Giraffe Zone represents an area of special biological, ecological, educational, scientific, historic, cultural, recreational, aesthetic, and economic value, including in particular the fact that the zone is part of the wider ecological and biological processes that are essential to the functioning of the Niger?s ecosystems. 43. Also, the Kandadji Hippo Sanctuary (1,000 ha) will be supported with the development of relevant sanctuary development policies and guidelines, stakeholders participation in the management and identification of eco-tourism potential to contribute to the Niger Valley Development Programme, regenerating the natural environment and reducing food insecurity. Consistent with the government of Niger?s conservation and development aspiration in decreeing the establishment of the Kandadji Hippo Sanctuary,[19]19 this project will support the implementation of the land use plan providing sufficient land for the species to continue its presence in the area and reducing the human-wildlife conflict through continuing expanding agricultural and pastoral practices in the grazing areas of this species. The output 2.1.1 will be executed with full involvement as lead technical department, of the Department of Wildlife and Hunding which is the mandated department in charge of the wildlife and parks management in Niger. 44. Component 2 has 2 outcomes and the first is 2.1 funding and technical assistance provided to demonstrate land restoration, wildlife conservation and biodiversity measures that also contribute to local livelihoods in Dallol Bosso with the following outputs:
o Output 2.1.1 Creation of one Protected Area (for Giraffes) and two Integrated Management Plans (Giraffe PA and Hippo Sanctuary) ensuring that gender and indigenous people?s priorities are considered o Output 2.1.2 Establishing institutional and technical capacity, enabling policies (e.g. communal development plans which integrate LDN and Biodiversity conservation) and infrastructure to manage the Giraffe Protected Area and the Kandadji Hippo Sanctuary o Output 2.1.3 Restoring 34,987.5 ha of degraded tiger bushes/bushland landscape and 10 blocks of bourgoitieres[20]20 o Output 2.1.4 Developing, sharing and dissemination of communication toolkits and radio programs to improve adoption of SLM and restoration interventions
45. The second outcome: 2.2 The provided technical assistance enables land and wildlife conservation income generating activities will be achieved through the following outputs: o Output 2.2.1 Identifying and implementing alternative Income Generating Activities contributing to land restoration with local communities to reduce threats to the giraffe Protected Area and the Kandadji Hippo Sanctuary. These activities will include improving value chains in the production of rice, onion, livestock and meat as well as non-Timber Forest Products (shea butter, Moringa leaf honey, fish, honey, fish and balanite oil) which potential has not thus far been exploited in the region. o Output 2.2.2 Identifying private investors, enterprises and 1 business planfor investments to restore land and conserve BD through scoping and shared with the identified private sector. The business plan will identify and articulate potential investment activities and priority areas, key stakeholders, potential sources of funding and key targets and indicators to monitor improvements in biodiversity conservation and reversals in the trends in land degradation in Dallol Bosso.
46. The project will assist in setting up the institutional management of the protected area and the sanctuary, as well as technically capacitating the new management regimes (output 2.1.2). The implementation of the land use plans to safeguard hippos will be done to reflect the current land uses, prevailing land tenure (communal) and community livelihood assets. This will be critical to ensure that the existing practices at landscape level are incorporated and improved in the implementation of activities under this project component. The proposed LUPs should be seen not in isolation but in connection and within the context of other proposed interventions, particularly alternative income generating activities that reinforce two aspects: first, reduction of human pressure on the habitat, and second, clarification of where humans can obtain livelihoods to avert conflicts with animals. Resources have been adjusted to increase the allocation to BD-related interventions, as per recommendation from peer reviewers.
47. Infrastructure (e.g. tourism information centres, surveillance points, water ponds, observation towers, habitat restoration sites, picnic areas, awareness materials, etc.) will be established to enable proper management of the areas. This component will seek to restore 614,708 hectares of degraded production landscapes (13,620 ha of agricultural land; 10,216 ha of pastoral grasslands; 132,522 ha of degraded tiger bushes; and 458,350 ha of agroforestry parks) (output 2.1.3). Communication toolkits and radio programs will be developed to assist in the awareness raising of the work done by the project on addressing land degradation and restoration interventions, so as to scale the impact of the project (output 2.1.4). Under output 2.1.4, knowledge management mechanisms for biodiversity conservation and land rehabilitation will be developed, tested, validated and operationalized at landscape level in Dallol Bosso. In this regard, the output will ensure effective knowledge management which will form basis for knowledge and innovation sharing and technology transfer which will foster shared benefits and social prosperity within and beyond the project area.
48. Further, the component will broaden the bases of community livelihoods as it promotes financial mechanisms to ensure the sustainability of the sanctuary and the protected area. To that end, alternative income generating activities will actively be sought within and around the giraffe and hippo hotspots in the area. At least four alternative income generating activities contributing to land restoration (e.g. Arabic Gum tree planting) will be identified in the Giraffe and Hippo landscapes together with local communities and implemented taking due consideration of gender aspects (output 2.2.1). A scoping exercise will also be funded by the project to identify business opportunities in the landscapes related to land restoration. 49. To ensure the sustainability of the income generating activities, the protection and restoration of giraffe and Hippo and restauration of tiger bush will be designed and implemented in such a way it will provides a suite of social and environmental benefits, including supporting the well-being of local communities by ensuring the continued delivery of important ecosystem services that intact Bosso landscape provides. 50. The project will seek to as much as possible engage the private sector investors and will provide technical assistance in the drafting of business plans to guide private sector engage in biodiversity conservation but also land restoration efforts (output 2.2.2). Potential private investors will include i) Nigerien enterprises in land management and restoration - e.g IBS Agro Industries; ii) private investors active in West Africa and interested in Niger?s agricultural and forestry sectors (e.g. Injaro Agriculture Capital, Livelihood Venture, Lundin Foundation, etc.); and iii) agro-based entitites that are active in the Dallol Bosso e.g The FUSA?A seed company (in Dosso region and is specialized in the sale of seeds to farmers in the region; and Alheri (based in Doutchi, Dosso region and supports farmers with screening / wrapping / packaging which improves the marketability of their produce). These will also be linked to component 4 on promoting improved production practices of key selected value chains. 51. The business plan will help to identify and prioritise activities that are relevant to restoration of habitats as well as the biodiversity conservation agenda of the Dallol Bosso landscape. Therefore, business plans will strengthen the business case for the biodiversity conservation and land restoration agenda. The business plans will be creating and implementing strategies that combine bold commitments to sustainability in conservation and restauration efforts with practical solutions that deliver benefits to the bottom line and the environment. The development of the business plans will consider lessons from previous similar initiatives elsewhere including the IUCN ?Lessons learned from building biodiversity business for conservation?. These lessons include i) importance to look at the bigger picture and develop a vision for the business; ii) Stakeholder involvement needs to occur from the beginning; iii) learn about the market and its complexities: iv) Partnerships which can add value to the business; v) Manage expectations, particularly from local communities, and; vi) The possibility of scaling up needs to be factored in from the outset. 52. Through the implementation of component 2, the overall impact is that the funding and technical support lead to improved biodiversity conservation, restoration of degraded production Dallol Bosso landscape as well as socioeconomic welfare of local communities in the landscape and surrounding areas.
Component 3: Promote improved production practices of key selected agricultural value chains 53. At the core of this component is the improved production and management of the agricultural produce to improve its marketability and safeguard natural resources. This project will seek to support smallholder producers in the Dallol Bosso to achieve transformational impacts at one important level that is bifurcated into making: i) smallholder producers in the landscape better market literate (output 3.1.1); and ii) infrastructural support to ensure the better marketability of selected key agricultural value chains are reduced (3.1.3). Activities linked to these outputs are climate-sensitive. For example, smallholder irrigation system depend on water availability and so are the crops and domesticated targeted for value chains. Therefore, each of the outputs will be accompanied by agro-climatic information services.
54. The main socioeconomic activities in Dosso region revolve around agriculture. However, current yield levels of important commodities are low and products produced are generally of poor quality in relation to market requirements. This component aims at contributing to improved production and productivity of target crop and livestock commodities, improving their marketability. It will also improve backward and forward linkages of farmers to different stakeholders (input suppliers and produce/product buyers) of the target value chains. Proposed interventions will seek to address some of the identified constraints to increased productivity and production of the target value chains and the associated market linkages.
55. The component has one outcome: 3.1 3,000 smallholder producers of selected VCs become market literate (at least 50% of whom are female producers) contributing to reduced post- harvest losses by about 50%: Interventions under this subcomponent will aim at addressing market illiteracy, lack of irrigation systems to improve production, lack of infrastructure for storage of farm produce, and information dissemination to appropriate audiences to trigger and complement transformational impact. Below are four principal proposed activities for achieving outcome 3.1:
56. Output 3.1.1. 3,000 smallholders (50% women) participate in awareness-raising on market literacy[21]21 of the selected Value Chains: Access to markets can be an incentive to improved land management and increased agricultural production and productivity. However, resource- poor smallholder farmers don?t often understand how markets works. They hardly have any information on market conditions, prices and quality goods. It is difficult for them to organize themselves collectively, and generally, they have limited experience in market negotiation. They hardly have capacity to influence the terms and conditions upon which they can engage in market process. The project will therefore address market illiteracy of smallholder producers in Dosso by empowering them with the savoir-faire to identify market opportunities; mainstream and empower women and the youth in value chains; ability to have better access to appropriate processing technologies; implementation of effective business organization practices that strengthen the position in market negotiation; more efficient farm to market channels; and the timely access to affordable financial and business services.
57. Output 3.1.2 Smallholder irrigation systems promoted and production is boosted on 500 ha to improve agricultural water management benefiting 600 small-scale household producers in Dallol Bosso and surrounding areas: The interventions at this level will aim at installing irrigation systems to ensure water availability to improve the production of crops during the rainy season as well as during the dry season. The result will be increased cropping intensity and yield to support production at scale that fits in the overall logic to improve the marketing and value chains of certain crops produced by smallholders in Dosso and surrounding areas. Priority will be given to systems for the production of crops with greater potential for establishing and sustaining markets to support livelihoods and food security. Activities will include:
o Feasibility studies and detailed designs ? these will be contracted out to service providers in consultation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and the Ministry of Environment and Fight Against Desertification. The regional offices in Dosso will support the Project Management Unit in the supervision of the studies and contracting out detailed designs to be conducted by the engineering company. o Construction of the irrigation systems ? this will be contracted to a private contractor through a competitive and transparent bidding process. o Operation and maintenance of the irrigation systems ? the engineering company will be responsible for producing operation manuals through a participatory consultative process that will include community members, the primary beneficiaries and users of the systems. The ?learning by doing? will be embedded in the general management of the irrigation systems. It should be noted that the irrigation systems that this project support will need to reflect the local context in terms of user-friendliness. For this reason, the ?learning by doing? will be very important to the general approach of operation and maintenance of the systems. Community committees will be established to give periodic reports on the functioning of the systems. These will report to extension officers/irrigation department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock in Dosso in case of repairs that cannot be handled at community level following the operation manuals.
58. Output 3.1.3 Infrastructure established (e.g storage facilities with phytosanitary control serving as trading points, solar energy systems) for irrigation, processing and packaging to improve the marketability of selected VCs, benefiting 600 farmers, 50% of them being women: The core focus of interventions will address market infrastructure-related constraints faced by smallholder producers in Dosso and surrounding areas within target value chains. In this regard, the interventions will support market infrastructure that can add value at the location, upgrade performance of enterprises and support associated agricultural smallholders in Dosso and surrounding areas to become competitive, environmentally and profitably sustainable ? focusing on crops and livestock-led infrastructure depending on the business viability of the target value chain.
59. For both crop and livestock-related infrastructure development, the project will support infrastructural development to facilitate aggregation, storage, marketing outlets and other marketing requirements to improve the marketability of the products. Pieces of infrastructure will include storage facilities with phytosanitary control serving as trading points, solar energy systems processing and packaging facilities.
60. Output 3.1.4 Dissemination of knowledge products and lessons learned targeting decision makers and local communities: The interventions at this level will aim to scale-up and out best practices and lessons from this component. Interventions for dissemination of knowledge products and lessons learned will seek to influence community behaviour regarding the sustainable use of natural resources in Dosso and surrounding areas. Additionally, the interventions will also seek to influence policy regarding resource management in Dosso and surrounding by strengthening extension services, resource allocation and market incentives and structures that support resource management. Specific activities will include the production of radio messages and program in French and local languages, TV programs showing the implementation of the project and the socioeconomic rewards for local communities, flyers detailing the project as well as its implementation, and workshops that will bring different stakeholders together to share lessons learned.
61. Improving the marketability of selected key value chains will create additional jobs thereby broadening the income base of community members ? income base that does not depend on the direct exploitation of resources that would lead to land degradation. Interventions will range from full-fledged package of market literacy to capacity and infrastructure development to support the production and marketing of selected agricultural value chains. Through this component, the proposed projects responds to the elevated levels of post-harvest losses estimated at 40-50% in a country that suffers from extreme, chronic poverty, and remains vulnerable to droughts and malnutrition. The component is embedded in the recommendations of the 2016-2020 Action Plan to develop and make agro-sylvo-pastoral and halieutic value chains at the core of the 3Ns ''Les Nigeriens Nourrissent des Nig?riens'' initiative. This component recognises multiple challenges and barriers to reduce internal and external factors that drive PHL in the Dallol Bosso. It is therefore rationalized on the understanding that solar energy systems, irrigation systems, resilient storage facilities, will improve the smallholder production practices and reduce their exploitation of resources that ensues from wasting their produce.
62. The component also recognises that improved post-harvest and processing techniques will not only improve the socio-economic wellbeing of farmers, but that farmers will become more efficient producers, thereby lessening their exploitation of natural resources while increasing food availability without requiring additional production resources. Thus, dealing with post- harvest losses will include widespread education of farmers in the causes of post-harvest losses; better infrastructure to connect smallholders to markets; more effective value chains that provide sufficient financial incentives at the producer level; opportunities to adopt collective marketing and better technologies supported by access to microcredit; and the public and private sectors sharing the investment costs and risks in market-orientated interventions.[22]22
63. Through the implementation of component 3, the overall impact is that the technical support leads to improved production practices that reduce post harvest losses of selected value chains in ways that improve sustainable land management and wildlife conservation. Additionally, the technical support improves market literacy among producers in the project area so that they get a fair share from the sale of their produce to support their livelihoods in ways that lessen their level of reliance on natural resources.
Component 4: Creating an enabling environment and capacity at local level to manage post-harvest losses 64. In Niger the national-level post-harvest losses (PHL) are as high as 50%, on average. In the Dosso region, post-harvest losses are estimated at 25%, 24.5%, 24% and 19% for onion, Neocarya macrophylla, fish and rice, respectively. With its fragile production landscapes, ensuring food security and sustainable production of food are policy priorities in Niger. PHL are in terms of value loss in both quantity and quality of food production from harvest to consumption. In this regard, quality losses relate to loss of nutrient and caloric composition, the acceptability, and the edibility of agricultural products. Quantity losses relate to those that result in the loss of the amount of agricultural products. PHL happen along all stages of the value chains of agricultural products. Mainly, these are: harvesting and handling at harvesting; threshing; drying, transport and distribution; storage; primary processing (cleaning, classification, hulling, pounding, grinding, packaging, soaking, winnowing, drying, sieving, milling); secondary processing (mixing, cooking, frying, molding, cutting, extrusion); product evaluation and quality control; packaging; and marketing (selling, distribution). One of the critical factors that contribute to PHL is lack of technical training.
65. Component 4 builds on component 3. While component 3 focuses on improving the marketability of the selected value chains, component 4 focuses on the smallholder producers themselves. The aim of component 4 is to reduce PHL by building the required capacities of smallholders producers in response to disease and pest outbreaks on target value chains, and to create an enabling environment for farm crop production through land use planning.
66. The underpinning rationale that links post-harvest losses with biodiversity conservation is that reducing food waste is more sustainable than increasing production to compensate for the losses. In supporting communities to reduce post-harvest losses, the project proposes value addition opportunities that enhance the value of key commodities to broaden the income base that improves the welfare and provides farmers with the financial resources for investment in resource enhancing technologies, but also in other non-intensive agricultural land use activities.[23]23
67. The reduction of postharvest food losses contributes to resource sustainability. Reducing waste of already produced food is more sustainable than increasing production to compensate for postharvest losses. Increasing production leads to more intensive farming or to an expansion of the area under cultivation, both of which may have negative effects on the environment especially when poor rural households tend to farm in fragile ecosystems or marginal land.[24]24
68. The component has three outcomes:
o 4.1 Reducing post-harvest losses (PHL) by 50% among smallholder producers contributes to biodiversity conservation within the Dallol Bosso landscape and surrounding areas;
o 4.2 Risks to selected value chains (VCs) ? rice, beef, onions and NTFP reduced through SLM; and
o 4.3 Project monitoring and evaluation ensured
69. Output 4.1.1 1,500 farming households undergo training and adopt-post-harvest loss (PHL) reduction technologies (e.g hermetically sealed bags) and practices (e.g harvesting at correct moisture content): Under this activity, the project acknowledges the technical limitations of smallholder producers in Dosso and surrounding areas to reduce the high levels of post- harvest losses. Under this activity, the project will seek partnerships with the following private sector entities or some of them to support and build capacities of smallholder farmers to reduce the levels of post-harvest losses: FUSA?A seed company based in Dosso; Alheri based in Doutchi involved in screening, wrapping and packaging; Tashi Ga Kanki cooperative based in Guechem?; Gani Ya Kori Ji cooperative based in Guidan Gaber (Gaya); and Haoua Zaley Federation based in Moussa dey (Dosso) Maibida Bashi Rashi for the transformation.
70. Acknowledging that PHL happen along all stages of the value chains of agricultural products, particularly harvesting and handling at harvesting; threshing; drying, transport and distribution; storage; primary processing (cleaning, classification, hulling, pounding, grinding, packaging, soaking, winnowing, drying, sieving, milling); secondary processing (mixing, cooking, frying, molding, cutting, extrusion); product evaluation and quality control; packaging; and marketing (selling, distribution) ? activity 2.1.2 will focus on these stages to build capacities to reduce aspects of post-harvest losses in the project area, to the benefit of about 1,500 households.
71. Output 4.2.1 At least 600 smallholder producers (of whom 50% will be female producers) participate in capacity building trainings at local level to handle common pest and disease outbreaks of selected key VCs in Dallol Bosso: As has already been alluded to, the rate of post-harvest losses is high in Niger. However, even before harvest, crop production in the country faces serious challenges related to the outbreaks of common pests and diseases. For example, onions are a very important crop for national consumption, but also for export to neighbouring countries in the sub-region, However, the crop faces serious threats from Agrotis spp, Spodoptera exigua(Hb), Spodoptera littoralis and Thrips Tabaci (onion thrips). On average, insect pests cause a drop in onion yield to about 19.4 t/ha, which is significantly lower than normal average yield of 50 t/ha[25]25. Among the main insects, thrips are the most serious pests that can cause total losses in onion production.
72. Addressing the challenge of crop losses associated with disease and pest outbreaks, the project under this activity will conduct capacity building trainings in good agricultural practices in plant protection, including integrated pest management practices. Training sessions will include capacity development in, among others, monitoring of harmful organisms, crop rotation and inter-cropping, use of adequate cultivation techniques, use of pest resistant/tolerant cultivars and standard/certified seed and planting material, weed control, field sanitation and hygiene measures and protection and enhancement of important beneficial organisms. The capacity development to handle the outbreak of common pest and diseases will have a strong gender dimension, ensuring that beneficiaries constitute 50% women smallholder producers in the target communes.
73. Output 4.3.1 Monitoring and evaluation framework developed and implemented: This will ensure the monitoring and evaluation framework for different project activities and will closely link with output 2.1.4. On the basis of output 4.3.1, the project will develop tools for tracking progress on biodiversity conservation and land rehabilitation in Dallol Bosso. Additionally, the output will form basis for knowledge and innovation sharing and technology transfer within and beyond the project catchment area - which will foster shared benefits.
74. Therefore components 3 and 4 are mutually reinforcing. They are both embedded in the experiences that have proved that ?minimizing postharvest food losses, including food waste, can help conserve resources and improve human well-being.?[26]26 The overall aim is that improving the marketability and creating an enabling environment for PHL management, pressure on land and associated resources will be reduced, thereby yielding biodiversity benefits.
75. Based on the wide stakeholder consultations at different administrative tiers, including community members themselves, the asset portofolios of households in the Dallol Bosso are too lean for them to fully take advantage of existing agricultural products through value additions. PHLs are recognised as a challenge, however they lack the enabling environment and capacity to deal with PHLs. This component therefore, recognizes this lacuna in the management of natural resources through poor management of PHL in the region. The project will therefore, focus on creating an enabling environment for smallholder producers themselves by building their capacities to improve land-use planning and crop rotation, and their ability to handle post-harvest losses as well as disease and pest outbreaks. To ensure that the strengthening of the enabling conditions are sustainable, the component will integrate the strengthening of extension services in the region which are constrained for financial reasons and limited capacities. The training of extension workers will therefore support the institutionalisation, adoption and sustainability of PHL reduction technologies and practices. 76. Through the implementation of component 4, the overall impact is that the technical support towards participatory land use planning, training and adoption of PHL reduction technologies and practices, leads to improved production practices that reduce post harvest losses of selected value chains in ways that contribute to sustainable management of natural resources, particularly biodiversity conservation and sustainable land management. 77. Finally, through this component, the project also notes that building capacity for PHL in a landscape that is almost entirely agriculture will create jobs that will help to keep particularly the youth from joining radical and extremist groups that are a constant threat in parts of Niger. Therefore, PHL technologies and practices are natural resource based employment opportunities that have a potential positive spin on decreasing fragility, and keeping conflicts of extremism and radicalization at bay.
Component linkages
78. Thematically, the projects addresses institutional capacities to strengthen Niger?s ability for integrated ecosystem management in a production landscape that is vulnerable to anthropogenization, but also a home to the last population of West African giraffes. The approach will ensure biodiversity conservation and land restoration with a deliberate consideration of land users (farmers), government agencies and the private sector - engaging in conservation (component 1), including climate risk preparedness through the promotion of improved production practices. These practices will include understanding better water climate risks and tailored agro-climatic information services, including advisory services on how to further transfer disaster risk (Component 3) and increase productivity and capacity to cope with climate change and variability (Component 4). By increasing their understanding and ability to prepare and manage risk, farmers will also be able to access unlocked weather index insurance and receive compensation in case of drought or dry spells from public and private insurance companies (Component 3) coupled with rural finance schemes as part of mechanisms to broaden the socioeconomic opportunities of communities that almost entirely depend on the exploitation of natural resources. To ensure that increased productivity translates into increased food security and incomes, farmers will also benefit from increased access to markets (Component 3) thanks to techniques and infrastructure that help reduce post-harvest losses and raise the quality of their products to marketable levels (component 3). Climate proofing storage facilities and roads will also help guarantee year-long market access. This will all enable smallholder farmers to invest further in climate-resilient practices, technologies and inputs along the selected agricultural value chains (component 3). The components thus, are addressing institutional gaps, but also the specific needs of land users and their production systems in ways that also account for their vulnerable context characterised by impacts of climate variability.
4) Alignment with GEF focal area and/or Impact Program strategies
79. The project seeks to improve the conservation of biodiversity at both floral and faunal levels by limiting habitat loss and restoring degraded production landscape by using an integrated ecosystem landscape approach in an area with competing landuse needs between wildlife and humans. It seeks to rehabilitate land within the Giraffe Zone and surrounding areas to improve the productive capacity of the land in ways that also contribute to carbon sequestration and improving livelihoods. 80. The proposal seeks GEF support establish and manage a giraffe Protected Area system in a ?social landscape? that also supports livelihoods. Related to this proposal is that the GEF resources will support adequate coverage of threatened species (giraffes threatened with extirpation in the West Africa sub-region and in the Niger, and hippos in Kandadji Hippo Sanctuary) at a sufficient scale to ensure long term persistence of these species. Additionally, the GEF support will ensure sustained individual and institutional capacity to manage the created protected area and the Hippo Sancturary such that they achieve their conservation objectives. Thus, the project is consistent with BD focal area. 81. The establishment and management of the giraffe Protected Area and the Kandadji Hippo Sanctuary are an important step in the right direction to ensure sound investment in biodiversity conservation and sustainable use. However, the Dallol Bosso is a ?social landscape? where human-wildlife conflicts are not uncommon. Due to overexploitation, climate change, among other factors, the landscape is degraded; threatening the persistence of the species the project seeks to conserve and the livelihoods of human communities. Therefore, the productivity of the land (which supports the animal habitat and livelihoods) is critical to both wildlife and humans for principally fours reasons: maintain the habitat, home to the giraffes; provide food for the herbivores that this project seeks to conserve; improve land productivity to support pastoral and crop production systems for communities; and the abundance of resources (due to improved land productivity and reduced human (over)exploitation) will potentially reduce human-wildlife conflicts. Human-wildlife conflicts in a ?social landscape? such as the Dallol Bosso, is a conflict over scarce resources between humans and wildlife, and among humans. Thus taking care of the socioeconomic aspects of biodiversity conservation efforts that focus on improving and sustaining food production and livelihood systems, and reducing pressures on natural resources from competing land uses is, overall, complementary to the broader strategy to ensure the sustainability of interventions in biodiversity conservation. For this proposal, this is the logic that informs the allocation of resources to BD-2-7 complemented by those allocated to LD-1-1 and LD-1-4 which seek to sustain food production and livelihoods and reduce pressures on natural resources from competing land uses, respectively. 82. Land rehabilitation and restoration in this landscape is critical to food security of smallholders and communities in the Giraffe Zone that are dependent on farming for their livelihoods. Thus, the project will support communities as they seek to meet growing demand for improved crop and livestock production (using SLM and biodiversity conservation-friendly production systems), while reducing the risk of expansion of the frontiers of farmland into critical wildlife habitats, erosion of genetic diversity, overexploitation of land and water resources, and inefficient practices that lead to greenhouse gas emissions and post-harvest losses in the Giraffe Zone. The project proposes a suite of interventions that will be tailored to contribute to improving management land and water resources of habitats and their conservation and sustainable use. Thus, this project contributes to the following Land Degradation and Biodiversity Focal Area Objectives:
? LD-1-1: Maintain or improve flow of agro-ecosystem services to sustain food production and livelihoods through Sustainable Land Management (SLM) ? LD-1-4: Reduce pressures on natural resources from competing land uses and increase resilience in the wider landscape; and ? BD-2-7: Address direct drivers to protect habitats and species and Improve financial sustainability, effective management, and ecosystem coverage of the global protected area estate
83. The proposed project is therefore, in aligned with developing monitoring and information systems regarding LDN, strengthening institutional and legal frameworks to secure land tenure rights for improved livelihoods but also facilitate LDN objectives and building capacities of key institutions to support LDN monitoring, restoration and maintainance of functional landscapes ? thus, consistent with creating an enabling environment to support voluntary LDN target implementation. Second, the project is in alignment with developing spatial and land-use planning (including building capacities), improving and changing production practices to be more biodiversity-positive and establishing appropriately tailored policy and regulatory frameworks to mainstream biodiversity in a landscape with interlinked multi and cross-sectoral drivers of resource degradation ? thus, consistent with addressing drivers to protect habitats and species. Third, the project acknowledges that biodiversity loss (both fauna and flora), land degradation, habitat loss and climate change, including water loss are systemic processes within the same landscape that require an integrated approach that simultaneously addresses the different components and processes to demonstrate mitigation options to reduce carbon emissions, and to render the socio-ecological system more resilient to both anthropogenic and climate change influences. 84. The GEF investments in the Giraffe Zone will put the Republic of Niger on course towards combating illegal and unsustainable use of giraffes and hippos in addition to improving biodiversity policy, planning, and review. This will support the mainstreaming of biodiversity in priority development sectors of the country for both global environmental benefits as well as socio-economic wellbeing of communities in Dallol Bosso and surrounding areas. The proposed suites of activities directly respond to spatial and land-use planning to ensure that land and resource use are appropriately situated to maximize production without undermining or degrading biodiversity; improving and changing production practices to be more biodiversity and land use-friendly. The proposed project is conceived to mainstream biodiversity conservation in the Giraffe Zone, a community based landscape through promotion of concrete and locally-responsive and biodiversity-friendly agricultural production systems (such as agroforestry, sustainable rangeland management, small-scale irrigation, rehabilitation of degraded agroforestry parks etc.), community sensitization programs that are participatory in nature to stimulate community based conservation efforts, and capacity building at appropriate administrative levels to improve conservation, sustainable biodiversity, land resource management and minimize human-wildlife conflicts. These efforts will be institutionalized at appropriate administrative levels. The institutional anchoring of interventions of this project will not only ensure sustainability of project outcomes and impacts, but also contribute to mainstreaming biodiversity in priority development sectors of Niger.
5) Incremental/additional cost reasoning and expected contributions from the baseline, the GEFTF, LDCF, SCCF, and co-financing
85. Niger continues to face challenges of biodiversity conservation and land degradation. These are linked to habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict, and reduced soil fertility and land productivity. The project will focus on the development of an integrated model to strengthen national, regional and municipal capacities and actions to implement an integrated ecosystem management approach in the landscape of Dallol Bosso and its surroundings. 86. The Dallol Bosso and surrounding areas as a landscape is characterized by the degradation of the plateaus, increasing land pressure from agriculture, burgeoning population growth, loss of biodiversity and important habitat, inter-community conflicts for resources, and the continuous silting and pollution of the water bodies. These highlight the limitations of current management systems to harmonize resources, adequately exploit the irrigation potential and improve value chains, especially in the river valley and the Dallol Bosso and surrounding areas. Furthermore, the mismanagement of agroforestry parks and production lands exacerbate desertification and poverty. To this constraint is added the lack of legislation on wildlife which does not allow the community to be compensated for damages caused by giraffe on crops. There is no participatory land use planning that specifies different land uses that can contribute to reducing human-wildlife conflicts as well as generalised resource degradation. 87. US$0.75 billion was estimated as the cost of land degradation due to Land Use Cover Change in 2007 on about 6.12 million ha in Niger ? equivalent to 11% of the Niger?s GDP (2007), and 1% of the value of Niger?s ecosystem services (2001).[27]27 In terms of returns on investments, every US dollar invested in taking action returns about $6 in Niger. By the afore- going estimations, land rehabilitation in Niger then was about US$123/ha. 14 years at the time of this project?s development, the cost of land rehabilitation has almost doubled. Supporting the costly land rehabilitation to generate global environmental benefits (in terms of number of hectares of degraded land restored, number of hectares of habitat created and protected etc) and number of hectares with improved productivity to support livelihoods, Niger needs additional financial and technical assistance from the GEF through IFAD and UNEP. Niger has socioeconomic challenges partly linked to the Sahelian climatic conditions. With the dawn of COVID-19, the country?s socioeconomic system is over-streched ? like in other countries. This means that the country has very limited financial and technical means to respond to challenges of land degradation, biodiversity loss and accentuated loss of livelihoods of the already vulnerable rural communities. 88. More recent costs of land rehabilitation in Niger are listed in the table below detailed by practices/technologies:
Table of main SLM practices in Niger
Technologies Cost in Cost FCA in USD
Za? or tassa: technique of digging small pockets of water while placing the 52,000/ha + 94/ha excavated earth in an arc in front of the hole. organic manure
Half moon: water collection and infiltration work, consisting of a semi-circular 90,000 to 162 to or V-shaped basin for the recovery of land with 0 to 3% slope, and arranged in a 120,000/ha 216/ha staggered perpendicular to the slope.
Assisted natural regeneration / technical agroforestry consisting of locating and 7,500/ha 14/ha maintaining young trees in crop fields Carried out in the fields of cultivation
Stone cordon: anti-erosion structure made up of stones placed one on top of the 70,000/ha 126/ha other in lines perpendicular to the slope.
Compost: technique of accelerating the decomposition of organic matter for 70,000/ha 126/ha easy release of nutrients Mulching: technique for restoring soil fertility which consists of covering the 22,000/ha 40/ha soil, in particular the degraded parts, with millet or sorghum stalks, branches or straw.
Fixation of dunes: technique of stabilization of live dunes by the installation of 210,000/ha 378/ha palisades or hurdles (mechanical fixation) often accompanied by planting or sowing herbaceous plants.
Bench: earthen, stone or mixed structure in the form of an anti-erosion bund 200,000/ha, 360/ha made according to the contour lines. Adapted to lateritic plateaus supervision included
Windbreaker: technique of linear planting of trees, shrubs or shrubs in one or 91,000 in 164/ha more rows, of one or more species. Lines installed perpendicular to the the case of prevailing winds. two rows per strip per ha
Live hedges: linear planting of trees, shrubs, shrubs in one or more rows planted 145,000/ha 261/ha around a perimeter to be protected against animals or other attacks.
Firewalls: technique of opening strips intended to stop the spread of a fire. 110,000/km 198/ha
Demarcation of passageways, grazing areas and certain water points From 20 to 11,000 to 27 15,000
Semi direct: reforestation technique from sowing seeds directly on the site to be 3,500/ha for 6/ha rehabilitated, in particular on sandy soils direct sowing of doum nuts
Raising on sandy soils: technique of making earth ridges perpendicular to the 47,000/ha 85/ha prevailing winds including supervision
89. Alternatively put, without the GEF support, the situation in the Giraffe Zone and surrounding areas is and will continue to be characterized by natural resource degradation and frequent cases of human-animal conflicts, with the existence of giraffes and hippos threatened. This is linked to the fact that wildlife in the project area is not protected as there is a legal and institutional vacuum. While there is no established policy and institutional arrangement for wildlife conservation that comes with the creation of protected areas, land use planning does not exist in the giraffe zone ? and this exacerbates human-wildlife conflicts in a landscape that is highly competed for between wildlife and humans. In addition, land use from agricultural production systems lead to land degradation, further compromising the productive capacity of the Giraffe Zone to provide for the ecosystem services that are required by both humans and animals. This complex set of socio-economic and climate change challenges are exacerbated by the fact that populations in the zone are growing. Therefore, without the GEF support, wildlife will continue to be threatened as well as human-wildlife conflict, including land degradation. This project is designed to respond to these challenges of wildlife conservation and land degradation. 90. Lack of investments in the region will therefore mean that the status quo as summarized above will continue in the Giraffe Zone leading to i) continued degradation, fragmentation and loss of forest ecosystems; ii) exacerbation of human-animal conflicts, but also social conflict and land disputes; iii) poaching of giraffes and hippos; iv) reduced agricultural productivity and consequent impact on food security that may worsen the vicious poverty-natural resource dependency cycle, among others. 91. The with GEF support scenario, the project will lead to the rehabilitation and restoration of the landscape that is at the core of socio-economic wellbeing of communities, biodiversity conservation and lead to the avoidance of carbon emissions through the adoption of post- harvest climate-friendly technologies and practices. The rehabilitation with for example, tiger bush as proposed in this project will improve the productive capacity of the landscape. The GEF support scenario will help to improve the management of resources in the Giraffe Zone to address conservation challenges that the zone faces by the mere fact that it is not a protected area. The improvement of resource management in the Dallol Bosso is premised on restoring and rehabilitating the degraded land. Improved management will also help to address the biodiversity and land degradation challenges in the Giraffe Zone, while securing food security through improved post-harvest handling and job creation. 92. With the GEF funding, this project will therefore address key issues focusing on biodiversity loss, land degradation through deforestation, livelihood insecurity, social conflict, human- animal conflict and promotion of agricultural production system that pose minimal threat to biodiversity loss (see the table below). GEF-funded interventions will consolidate ongoing projects and government. Therefore, the GEF strategic incremental cost for this project is rationalized on the basis that the GEF resources will conserve giraffes and hippos, abate the loss of habitats, support biodiversity conservation, and strengthen policy and instutional capacities to improve biodiversity conservation while empowering rural communities with sensitization programs and including them as partners in the conservation efforts of resources of global environmental value as well as socio-economic benefits at local and national levels. The GEF support will allow identification and promotion of good sustainable land management practices including agroforestry and other agricultural value chains, which will help boost soil quality and land productivity, while conserving and enhancing carbon stocks. Without the GEF resources, the observed trends in habitat loss, absence of eco-tourism to boost the local economy, lack of policy and institutional policies, unsustainable agricultural production systems, among others, will continue leading to the further loss of global environmental goods and loss of socio-economic opportunities for local communities and the nation at large. 93. The incremental/additional cost reasoning and expected contributions from the baseline is summarised in the table below.
Outcome Baseline (1) Alternative (2) Increment (2) ? (1) Component 1: National Capacity enhancement for integrated landscape management approaches to integrate LDN and BD conservation into development planning 1.1: Government of Niger adopt ?Despite the ?Technical capacities ?The first ever and implement new integrated established LDN are built and policy policy framework landscape management targets, policy coherence/alignment of for the approaches to integrate LDN integration and LDN with national implementation of and BD conservation into alignment to LDN development planning LDN in Niger is in development planning but also synergistic strengthened using place benefits with landscape integrated biodiversity approach ?The SLM/LDN conservation is implementation is ?Data and monitoring weak in Niger. monitored/tracked system hub regarding Additionally, in Niger, SLM/LDN indicators hitherto, SLM/LDN strengthening the and subindicators monitoring at country?s ambition developed to support national level is to reduce, avoid LDN implementation in non-existing in the and reverse land Niger country. degradation.
?Integrated Landscape ?Integrated Management Plan and Landscape relevant regulations and Management Plan rules around LDN in Dallol Bosso in developed for the Dallol place and Bosso landscape implemented contributing to spatial prioritisation of development interventions, and reducing human- wildlife conflicts. Additionally, conflicts associated with resources use between pastoral communities and sendentary crop producers are minimized. Component 2: Improved biodiversity conservation and land restoration actions in the Dallol Bosso landscape 2.1: Funding and technical ?The Giraffe Zone ?The Giraffe Zone will ?The creation of a assistance provided demonstrate suffers from lack of have a new status as a Protected Area land restoration and wildlife technical but also Protected Area, with management conservation in Dallol Bosso financial challenges accompanied by the plans improve and surrounding areas linked to the fact development of two giraffe the zone does not Integrated Management conservation, and have legal status as Plans (one for the management a PA. The Kandadji Giraffe PA and the other effectiveness of Hippo Sanctuary for the Kandadji Hippo the Kandadji does not also have Sanctuary) Hippo Sanctuary. management institutional ?The management of the ?Human-wildlife infrastructure, Giraffe PA and the conflicts reduced, compromising its Kandadji Hippo wildlife management Sanctuary is boosted conservation effectiveness through appropriate improved and institutional and sporadic technical capacity settlements that development, communal accentuate land development plans degradations which integrate LDN reduced thanks to and Biodiversity communal conservation) and development infrastructure. plans.
? Degraded production ?614,708 hectares landscape is restored on of degraded 614,708 ha using species production adapted to the edaphic landscapes is characteristics and restored. climatic conditions of the area. 2.2: The provided technical ?Human-wildlife ?Conservation-friendly ?Alternative assistance enables the conflicts in the but also agroecological Income Generating generation of land and wildlife Giraffe Zone are income generating Activities based on conservation-friendly income common, and one activities are identified agroecological activities of the causes of this and supported to practices support conflict as well as contribute to wildlife the restoration of land degradation is conservation and land land, wildlife linked to restoration. conservation and community livelihoods and overreliance and ?Community members minimize human- exploitation of land- and other relevant wildlife conflicts based resources. stakeholders are sensitized about human- ?Business plans wildlife conflicts, land and partnerships restoration/SLM through developed and developed strengthened as communication toolkits blueprint for and radio programs. investments in wildlife ?Private sector conservation and investments encouraged land restoration in in wildlife conservation the Giraffe Zone. and land restoration through the development of LDN and BD-focused business plans. Component 3: Promote improved production practices of key selected agricultural value chains (VCs) 3.1: 3,000 smallholder ?Communities in ?Capacities of 3,000 ?Market literacy producers of selected VCs Dallol Bosso and smallholders built improves become market literate (at least surrounding areas through market literacy producers? ability 50% of whom are female almost entirely training in selected to profitably sell producers) contributing to depend on rain-fed value chains, and their produce ? reduced post harvest losses by agriculture that is lessons learned are creating more jobs about 50% highly sensitive to disseminated to other thereby climate variations. community members diversifying The harvests are and decision markers to incomes to lessen meagre and poor, support extension pressure on land with little services. exploitation. opportunities for access to markets to ?Production systems and ?Overall quality incentivise crop yields improved and quantity of improved through investments in crop yields production methods smallholder irrigation improve, and so and diversification. systems, solar energy does their systems and other pieces marketability - of infrastructure (e.g leading to storage facilities with improved food phytosanitary control security and more serving as trading sustainable use of points. land. Component 4: Creating an enabling capacity environment at local level to manage post-harvest losses 4.1. Reducing post-harvest ?On national-level, ?Capacities of 1,500 ?Post-harvest losses (PHL) by 50% among the post-harvest farming households are losses are reduced smallholder producers losses are as high as built in technologies ? improving the contributes to biodiversity almost 50% in a and practices to reduce marketability of conservation within the Dollol country that is food post-harvest losses products, food Bosso landscape and insecure and relies security and surrounding areas on agriculture, a expands sector that is highly socioeconomic sensitive to climate opportunities of variation in a producers. This Sahelian country has overall that is almost 50% positive impact of inhabitable due to a land and wildlife hostile climate. conservation as it reduces reliance and exploitation of land and associated resources. 4.2 Risks to selected value ?Risks of diseases ?Capacity development ?Disease and pest chains (VCs) ? rice, beef, and pest outbreaks of community members outbreaks are onions and NTFP reduced to critical value and extension service better handled ? through SLM chains in the Dallol workers through contributing to Bosso and trainings to handle improved yields, surrounding areas common pest and food security and are poorly disease outbreaks less exploitation of understood, and land and therefore associated management resources practices have not been developed ? re-occurrence of outbreaks and increasing the level of food insecurity while losing the opportunities to expand socioeconomic opportunities that come with developed value chains.
6) Global environmental benefits (GEFTF) and/or adaptation benefits (LDCF/SCCF)
94. The project will be implemented in an area that is a habitat to the last bastion of West African giraffes, Giraffa camelopardalis peralta. The species is on the IUCN Red List as an endangered[28]28 species. Through the technical assistance to establish the Bosso Giraffe Protected Area, conduct participatory land use planning processes, support towards agroecological practices for land rehabilitation, support towards livelihoods to reduce human- wildlife conflicts and capacity development of stakeholders at different administrative levels, among others, the project is strategically designed to generate global environmental benefits. The project?s approach is embedded in the long term solution that seeks to reconcile the conservation of endangered wildlife with meeting local livelihoods tied to the exploitation of vulnerable but also degraded production landscape. Thus, the project responds to two fundamental challenges that characterise the giraffe zone in Niger: ensuring giraffe conservation and improved management of hippos; and satisfying local livelihoods within the same vulnerable and degraded production landscape. 300,000 people are targeted to directly benefit socio-economically from this project, with 1,500 households adopting biodiversity- friendly agricultural production systems. In terms of global environmental benefits, the project is designed to generate the following tabulated global environmental benefits:
Biodiversity aspects Environmental benefits
1. Species protection Protection of the last population of West African giraffes 664 giraffes in 2019 Protection of the hippos in the project area as the only population in 329 hippos in 2013 Niger Management effectiveness of the Kandadji Hippo Sanctuary 60 % in terms of METT 2. Habitat and ecosystem protection Conservation of wildlife habitat (giraffes) 55,300 ha Management of the Kandadji Hippo Sanctuary 1,000 ha Protection of the unique ecosystem of the tiger bush 187,823 ha Total 244,123 3. Creation, implementation and management of the Protected Area Creation, development and implementation of the development plan of 55,300 ha the Bosso Giraffe Protected Area Total 55,300 ha 4. Landscape under improved practices Agroecogical practices 70,125 ha Total 70,125 ha 5. Restoration of production landscape Restoration of agricultural land 13,620 ha Restoration of pastoral grasslands 10,216 ha Restoration of degraded tiger bushes 132,522 ha Restoration of agroforestry parks 458,350 ha Total 614,708 ha
95. The proposed project will contribute to improved conservation of giraffes and hippos, ecosystem management and land-use practices, thereby reducing the current trend of desertification, deforestation and forest degradation, and animal-human conflicts. Increased productivity on existing farming and pastoral land coupled with reduced post-harvest losses due to poor handling and disease and pest ourbreaks, will equally reduce the need for expanding farmlands, thus reducing carbon emissions from land use change and agricultural production. 96. Protected Areas represent conscious conservation efforts to preserve not only wild species, but also the ecosystems in which species live. The conceptualization of this project is premised on the recognition that biodiversity conservation in its various forms ? species (flora and fauna), genetic diversity within species and of habitats and ecosystems - supports ecosystem function and has many practical, utilitarian benefits. Biodiversity conservation makes a critical contribution to maintaining and or improving the life-support system that underpins community livelihoods. This is particularly valid for the Republic of Niger given the biophysical characteristics of the country and the climate change challenges that the country faces. Given the co-habitation of giraffes, hippos and human communities in the same landscape in the Giraffe Zone, improved management of resources in Dallol Bosso and surrounding areas represents an opportunity to achieve multiple benefits: human wellbeing through improved agricultural production systems; rehabilitation and restoration of degraded production landscapes; reduction of carbon emission, and improved sequestration capacity of the Giraffe Zone; and conservation of giraffes and hippos. This presents an opportunity for the Republic of Niger to slow the rate of biodiversity loss so that many species can continue to survive.
7) Innovativeness, Sustainability and Potential for scaling up
Innovation
97. The innovation of this project primarily lies in the design to reconcile the conservation of endangered wildlife species and land restoration with meeting local livelihoods through a multifaceted approach that: i) creates Protected Area that will be accompanied by management plans; and ii) supporting sustainable alternative livelihoods that will expand socioeconomic opportunities while lessening people?s reliance on the exploitation of natural resources and destruction of the giraffe habitat ? thereby lessening human-wildlife conflict. It should be noted that this project champions an integrated approach to create a Protected Area without threatening livelihoods ? a bold vision that on-going and previous interventions have not thus far considered in a landscape with a delicate balance between natural resource management and sustainability of livelihoods. The project therefore is a natural resources management opportunity that brings together different stakeholders around this bold vision ? and will build and strengthen institutional capacities and policies, including weaving the LDN initiative into the implementation of an integrated ecosystem management approach in the Dallol Bosso landscape. 98. The Giraffe Zone in Niger presents an opportunity to manage human-environment interaction in a strategic landscape approach that promotes human wellbeing, biodiversity conservation of giraffes and hippos, carbon sequestration and reduction of carbon emissions and engagement of key stakeholders that include local communities, development partners, government agencies and the private sector. The project innovatively seeks to achieve both socio- economic benefits and global environmental benefits within the same landscape that highlights rare human-animal cohabitation - in a giraffe hotspot that is important to the population of giraffes in the Sahelian eco-region. That is, the last population of giraffes in West Africa lives in Niger in an unprotected Sahelian region that is inhabited by farmers and herders.[29]29 Given the status quo, there are a lot of opportunities lost in not improving the conservation of wildlife in the Giraffe Zone and surrounding areas, arresting land degradation and habitat loss, improving the income base of community members through value chains and improved agricultural production systems and promoting eco-tourism that has enormous potential in providing jobs ? that is, incomes to broaden the base of alternative livelihoods to support communities to rely and exploit less natural resources. 99. The project builds on the understanding and recognition of the role of local communities as stakeholders in the conservation of wildlife, but also as contributors to emission reductions in the production systems, post-harvest handling and processing and value chains. Securing the legal status of Giraffe Zone as a protected area will improve its management - leveraging the legal status of the zone to invest in initiatives that will conserve giraffes as well as hippos that are equally important animals in the extended region, given the flow of the river Niger. Having a legal status as protected area coupled with participatory land use planning and management plans will clarify and strengthen tenure rights of the people, including their negotiating abilities regarding environmental goods and services in the Giraffe Zone. This is because a complex resource system such as in the Dallol Bosso landscape requires more than one level of local management and mutually reinforcing legal systems (see Fennell, 2006[30]30). This is based on the understanding that improved tenure may provide equal or higher investment incentives, and may promote modes of rights appropriation that are productive rather than wasteful.[31]31 Improved land tenure rights have also been shown to increase investment incentives, including improved management of natural resources (see example in Ethiopia[32]32,[33]33). 100. Through the landscape approach using integrated ecosystem management, the project promises the production of recommendations and strategic documents to strengthen human- wildlife conflict resolution (for the last giraffes in West Africa), create and strengthen a biodiversity conservation agenda of the Giraffe Zone among different stakeholders (e.g government agencies, GEF agencies (IFAD and UNEP), conservation groups (Wild Africa Conservation and Giraffe Conservation Foundation), International Research Institutions (World Resources Institute), local communities etc), improve and increase the implementation of Maison de Paysans; introduce innovative techniques such as biophysical change monitoring using remote sensing; deepen involvement of private sector and impact investors through the Land Accelerator and investment roundtables; facilitate increased financial investment?from both public and private sources?into enterprises and projects that restore land in the Giraffe Zone; and foster knowledge exchange and storytelling platforms such as the 100 Landscape Platform.[34]34 Through its interventions, the project promises to reconcile biodiversity conservation with socioeconomic needs of local communities that are currently in conflict with wildlife presence in the same production landscape.
Sustainability
101. The sustainability of outcomes and impacts for the proposed project are underpinned by the general design of the project that reflects processes of engagement with the right stakeholders; building the incentives for these key actors to act; incorporating adequate diversity and flexibility in project design and implementation; and underpinning it all with a systems thinking approach.[35]35 To this end, the project has ensured social, environmental, economic and institutional sustainability in its design that will also continue during implementation. The first strategic path to the sustainability of this project and its outcomes is the engagement of local communities in the Giraffe Zone who are the direct beneficiaries of improved human- animal conflict resolution, but also who are the primary stewards of natural resources in the region. Thus, community members will be incentivized to sustain project activities as these will be part of their livelihood package. The engagement of community members in this project will be at the level agricultural production systems, post-harvest handling techniques, value chains, sensitization programs, ecotourism business opportunities and job opportunities with ecotourism operators ? the support to alternative income generating activities will be critical and will play a vital role in sustaining the projects and its outcomes during project implementation and after. Community members and other stakeholders will also be involved in participatory land use planning processes. This level of engagement will ensure that community members and other stakeholders are consulted, but also strengthen their sense of ownership of the project and benefits that accrue from the improved management of natural resources in Dallol Bosso and surrounding areas. At this level, the project will ensure both social and economic sustainability. 102. Additionally, the project will engage and involve other interest groups, particularly the banking sector (to leverage more investments) and ecotourism operators who are essentially the private sector. Their business interests are a motivation to sustain the outcomes and outputs of this project. NGOs through their advocacy work provide checks and balances that are an important ingredient in sustaining the governance of the project and its outcomes during the project implementation and after. 103. The institutional and social sustainability of the project also hinges on the diversity and the quality of the stakeholders. The implementation of the project will be anchored in two directly relevant Ministries: the Ministry of Environment (MESUDD); and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. These ministries will form a joint Executing Agency arrangement for the project. Other key stakeholders of the project include: IFAD and UNEP as GEF Implementing Agencies, and the Nigerien Ministry of Finance, the Agricultural Development Bank (BAGRI) and the World Resources Institute (WRI) will provide technical support to the Executing Agency as necessary. Other government institutions to be involved include the Executive secretariat of the National Council Environment for sustainable development; the Ministry of Planning; the Ministry of Finance; the Permanent secretariat of the Rural Code; the Regional Councils and Communal Councils all of whom will be engaged as appropriate. This diversity of stakeholders with specific institutional mandates will ensure and strengthen both social and institutional sustainability of the project outcomes. In that direction, most if not all of the components 1 and 2 activities, will be subcontracted to national entities or departments with the Ministry in charge of Environment, with mandate on the thematic areas concerns. For example, the data platform and monitoring of environment indicators are assigned to the National Centre of Ecological Monitoring (CSE); the issues related to land tenure are assigned to the Permanent Secretariat of Rural Code, and the Integrated Landscape Management Plan (ILMP) is assigned to the Directorate of Water and Forest within the Ministry in Charge of Environment as the Department has a dedicated Service in charge of Land Use and Land Management Plans.
104. Consistent with the aforementioned, this is a co-Agency implemented project. Given this particularity, IFAD and UNEP have both comparative advantages to work with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Environment, respectively. Being co-implemented, with two separate resource allocations to IFAD and UNEP ($2,876,712 and $2,420,096 in GEF grant, respectively), the proposed arrangement is that IFAD will still work with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock on components 3 and 4, while UNEP will have components 1 and 2 implemented through the Ministry of Environment.
105. The second strategic path to the sustainability of the project and its outcome will be through the creation of financial mechanisms that support the operational costs of land restoration activities and two Wildlife Sanctuaries. The improvements to infrastructure in Koure, for example, will for example, boost the eco-tourism potential of the giraffe zone, strengthen the existing institutional arrangements between local communities and giraffe guards, build capacities in eco-tourism community-level businesses and build and strengthen partnerships with other conservation groups such as the Giraffe Conservation Foundation and the Wildlife Africa Conservation. The financial mechanisms and aspects as well as institutional arrangements and partnerships will ensure contribute to both institutional and economic sustainability of the project ? that will be key in sustaining the status of the protected area and continued engagement in economic opportunities from the established Bosso Giraffe Protected Area. 106. The third strategic path to the sustainability of this project is the anchoring of its implementation within government institutions that have a predictable level of existence but also with a legitimate legal mandate to implement and execute development programs and projects in the country. Policy and institutional capacities as well as frameworks to support the management of natural resources in Dallol Bosso of local and global importance, land use plans and extension services, among others will be supported through this project. This institutional-level of capacity development, including management plans will ensure institutional sustainability of the projects. This strategic path will therefore ensure the sustainability and legitimacy of institutional framework for the different plans. It should be noted that the logic is that this is a government of Niger-driven project with total support and facilitation from the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. Its implementation is therefore, embedded in government development priorities. Therefore, its sustainability will be ensured at this level. 107. Finally, the land restoration of restoration of 614,708 hectares of degraded production landscapes (13,620 ha of agricultural land; 10,216 ha of pastoral grasslands; 132,522 ha of degraded tiger bushes; and 458,350 ha of agroforestry parks) will use species that are adapted to the edaphic but also climatic conditions of the zone - particularly species that were there before that have been degraded. This will ensure environmental sustainability of the project interventions.
Scaling-up
108. The project has a high potential for scalability and replicability. To improve the conservation of giraffes and hippos, improving value chains, reducing post-harvest loses to improve food security and to improve biodiversity and land and water management are important responses to the several socio-economic and environmental threats that Niger faces as a country. These include loss of habitats and land degradation due to non-environmentally sound agricultural production methods and competing land uses due to burgeoning population growth. These challenges are accentuated by the impacts of climate change, but also by the general biophysical characteristics that make it that only half of the country is hospitable to human occupation. Therefore, the interventions related to improving agricultural production systems limit the potential for expansion of agricultural land, carbon emission and further biodiversity loss. As has been alluded to under the sustainability section, the project will be anchored in government legal and institutional processes which will serve as conduits for the processes of scaling up within and beyond the project catchment area, during and after the life of project. Scaling up and replicability will also be ensured through regional programs that seek to promote biodiversity and landscape management and livelihoods derived from dryland forests as biomes. Scalability and replicability will be ?demand-driven? given the fundamentally national-level socio-economic, biophysical and climate change-related challenges cross the country that are similar in scope to the Giraffe Zone. Lessons from this project will therefore inform interventions in programs such as Sustainable Forest Management Impact. Additionally, best practices and lessons learned will be communicated through the 28-country African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100), of which Niger is a partner. The AFR100 platform can be leveraged for cross-country exchange, to drive replication of successful approaches, and as a means of accessing complementary technical and financial support.
[1] National Institute of Statistics (INS), 2019
[2] World Population Review 2019 [3] The West African giraffe is a subspecies of giraffe, distinguished from other types by its light, tan- coloured spots. West African giraffes only exist in the wild. They are nomadic, moving around to find food.
[4] Morou B, Karimou Ambouta JM, Karim S, Mahamane A, Saadou M, Mainassara ZA, Sinsin B. (2011). Etat de degradation de l?habitat de la girafe (Giraffa camelopardalis peralta Linnaeus, 1758) au Niger. Secheresse 22 : 57-64. doi : 10.1684/ sec.2011.0292
[5] Haut Commissariat ? l?am?nagement de la Vall?e du Niger (2006). Detailed Environmental and Social Impact Assessment: Programme Kandadji de R?g?n?ration des ?cosyst?mes et de Mise en valeur de la vall?e du Niger http://documentos.bancomundial.org/curated/es/856671468006608446/text/E29650v10EA0P1020Box3 67849B03305663.txt
[6] Rapport Final du Programme de D?finition des Cibles de NDT, January 2018
[7] https://www.icrisat.org/farmers-perception-of-land-degradation-and-solutions-to-restoring-soil- fertility-in-niger/
[8] Obame et al. (2014). Carbon sinks in small Sahelian lakes as an unexpected effect of land usechanges since the 1960s (Saga Gorou and Dallol Bosso, SW Niger). Catena 114, 1-10
[9] National Climate Change Policy, Government of Niger, 2013
[10] Niger: Overview of LDN Targets https://knowledge.unccd.int/home/country- information/countries-having-set-voluntary-ldn-targets/niger
[11] Niger plans to stops importing rice in 2023 http://french.xinhuanet.com/afrique/2019- 07/20/c_138242784.htm
[12] High Level Panel of The African Union - European Union Agriculture Ministers Conference Climate Smart Agriculture and Reducing Food Losses and Waste, 2 July 2017, FAO HQ, Rome, Italy
[13] Cowie, A. 2020. Guidelines for Land Degradation Neutrality: A report prepared for the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel of the Global Environment Facility, Washington D.C. https://stapgef.org/sites/default/files/publications/LDN%20Technical%20Report_web%20version.pdf
[14] Guidelines for the application of the ?Scientific Conceptual Framework for Land Degradation Neutrality?, October 2019
[15] With due consideration of STAP and SPI guidelines on LDN
[16] Taken into consideration (definition of activities during PPG) available resources and knowledge: e.g. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323915744_Integrated_Management_Systems_and_Sustaina ble_Development [17] FAO (2019). Towards a National Land Policy in Niger. http://www.fao.org/3/ca4351en/ca4351en.pdf
[18] IFAD (2014). How to do Participatory land-use planning: Land tenure toolkit 5b7640a2-113d- 4571-bc1b-3dd34ab30d30 (ifad.org)
[19] Government of Niger (2017). The classification of Kandadji as a National Natural Reserve: Decree 2017-629 PNR/ME/DD
[20] The ?bougoutieres? are plains where the bourgou grows. Rehabilitation efforts will focus on both replanting the bourgou which is a landrace in the area and on reducing pressure on its use by communities by alternative income generating activities.
[21] Market literacy is the awareness, understanding and capacity to build the processes, institutions (such as viable cooperatives), competences/skills and relationships that enable markets to work for poor producers. Adapted from Hunger and Poverty: the Role of Biodiversity (2006). Ed. S. Bala Ravi, I. Hoeschle-Zeledon, M.S Swaminathan, & E. Frison
[22] Hodges, R.J. J. C. Buzby, C.J & Bennett, B. (2010). Postharvest losses and waste in developed and less developed countries: opportunities to improve resource use
[23] Francesco Goletti and Christiane Wolff (1999). The Impact of Postharvest Research. International Food Policy Research Institute. MSS Discussion Paper No. 29
[24] Idem
[25] Government of Niger (2020) provisional study report: post-harvest loss, rice, onion, meat, non- timber forest products in Dallol Bosso and its surroundings quoting Issa et al. 2007.
[26] Hodge, R.J., Buzby, J.C & Bennett, B. (2011). Postharvest losses and waste in developed and less developed countries: opportunities to improve resource use. Journal of Agricultural Science, 149, 37?45
[27] Moussa B., Nkonya E., Meyer S., Kato E., Johnson T., Hawkins J. (2016) Economics of Land Degradation and Improvement in Niger. In: Nkonya E., Mirzabaev A., von Braun J. (eds) Economics of Land Degradation and Improvement ? A Global Assessment for Sustainable Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-19168-3_17
[28] Giraffe Conservation Foundation (2018). Africa?s Giraffe Conservation Status and Distribution. https://giraffeconservation.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Conservation-Status-Distribution-poster- 2016-LR-c-GCF.pdf
[29] Yvonnick Le Pendu & Isabelle Ciofolo. (1999). Seasonal Movements of Giraffes in Niger. Journal of Tropical Ecology 15:341?253 [30] Lee Anne Fennell (2006). Ostrom?s Law: Property Rights in the Commons. International Journal of the Commons
Vol. 5, no 1 February 2011, pp. 9?27
[31] Espen Sjaastad & Daniel W. Bromley (1997). Indigenous Land Rights in Sub-Saharan Africa: Appropriation, Security and Investment Demand. World Development, Vol. 25, No. 4, pp. 549-562.19
[32] Berhanu Gebremedhin & Scott M. Swinton (2003). Investment in soil conservation in northern Ethiopia: the role of land tenure security and public programs. Agricultural Economics 29 (2003) 69-84
[33] KlausDeininger & Songqing Jin (2006). Tenure security and land-related investment: Evidence from Ethiopia. European Economic Review, Vol. 50, Issue 5, Pages 1245-1277
[34] The 100 Landscape is a platform aiming to support farmers, communities, commercial enterprises and implementers gain access to the knowledge, expertise and finance they need to restore degraded lands across AFR100 partner countries
[35] Achieving more enduring outcomes from GEF investment: a STAP document http://stapgef.org/sites/default/files/publications/DURABILITY_web%20posting_0.pdf
1b. Project Map and Coordinates
Please provide geo-referenced information and map where the project interventions will take place.
Map of the Republic of Niger showing project area: Geographic Coordinate System: WGS84 Data source: http://www.diva-gis.org/datadown
1c. Child Project?
If this is a child project under a program, describe how the components contribute to the overall program impact.
2. Stakeholders Select the stakeholders that have participated in consultations during the project identification phase:
Civil Society Organizations Yes
Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Yes
Private Sector Entities Yes
If none of the above, please explain why:
Please provide the Stakeholder Engagement Plan or equivalent assessment.
1. Stakeholder engagement has been part of the design process of this project. From the intial PIF consultations up until now in the preparation of the CEO endorsement stage, key stakeholders have been engagement and consulted. For example, the last meeting to refine and update project objectives and core indicators, the project brought together the Ministry of the Environment, Urban Health and Sustainable Development (MESU / DD), the National Council for Sustainable Development (CNEDD), representatives of regional and departmental technical services for livestock, agriculture, the environment, plan and community development of the project intervention area. Also present were the Representative of the UN - Environment of West Africa, the Conservators of the W du Niger Regional Park (PRW / N), the Giraffe Zone of Kour? (ZGK) and the Partial Reserve de Faune de Dosso (RPFD), representatives of regional (COFOR), departmental (COFODEP), and municipal (COFOCOM) Land Commissions, NGOs, development projects and programs that intervene in the future PROSAP intervention zone. Moving forward during the implementation phase, the project will continue involving these and other stakeholders, principally government and quasi-government institutions at national and regional levels, research institutions, the private sector, civil society organisations. These are detailed in the different categories below. 2. It should be noted that the stakeholders mentioned below are directly or indirectly involved in the thematic focus of the project in their operational mandates and functions. In the course of implementation, they will be consulted, and some of them are represented in the Project Steering Committee. It should be noted that some of the named institutions are part of the mother Ministries as Executing Agencies, that is, the Ministry of Environment (UNEP components 1 and 2) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (IFAD components 3 and 4). For example, the Ministry responsible for Agricultural Development and Animal Resources refers to the mother Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. Others are allied institutions/Ministries of the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock in Niger.
National public administrations:
3. The implementation of this project will involve line ministries or departments with direct or indirect relevance to the objective of the project. Broadly, these include: ? Ministry responsible for the Environment and the Fight against Desertification through its General Directorate for the Environment and Water and Forests and its related services (Office of Environmental Assessments and Impact Studies and National Center for Ecological Monitoring in Long term);
? Ministry of Economy and Finance;
? Ministry in charge of Regional Planning and Community Development;
? Ministry responsible for Agricultural Development and Animal Resources through its national departments and associated institutions (such as INRAN, ONAHA, projects, AGRHYMET, ICRISAT, IRD) and decentralized services; and
? Ministry responsible for the advancement of women and gender issues.
A Regional Chamber of Agriculture (CRA):
4. This institution exists in each region. Although they have management autonomy, the actions of the CRAs are coordinated at the national level, by an apex structure, called The National Network of Chambers of Agriculture (RECA), whose headquarters are in Niamey. As with the CRAs, the RECA is a public establishment of a professional nature created by Law 2000-15 of August 21, 2000 and its implementing decree 2001-105 / PRN / MDR of May 18, 2001. The CRAs, through RECA, embody the representativeness of the agricultural profession (individual producers and professional agricultural organizations), play a role of information and advisory support vis-?-vis their nationals and benefit from funding from the national budget ( through the provision of civil servants) and Financial Technical Partners (PTF).
Ministry of Environment and Fight Against Desertification (ME/LCD):
5. The Ministry in charge of Environment and Sustainable Development "defines designs, prepares, implements and assesses development policies, strategies, projects and programs in the areas of Environment, Desertification Control and Sustainable Development, especially through conservation and protection of forest, wildlife, fisheries and apiarian resources". At central level, the Ministry counts three (3) General Directorates mainly: the General Directorate for Sustainable Development and Environmental Standards (DGSD/ES), the General Directorate of Water and Forestry (DGWF), the General Directorate of Sanitation and Enhancement of the Living Environment (DGUS/ELE). The MEUS/SD has three affiliated services: the National Environmental and Assessment Office (NEAO), the National Center for Ecological and Environmental Monitoring (NCEEM) and the National Forestry Seed Center (NFSC). The MEUS/SD also ensures the technical supervision of the General Directorate of National Agency of the Great Green Wall (GD-NAGGW) - an Administrative and Public Establishment (APE) responsible for coordinating the implementation of the Great Green Wall Initiative for the Sahara and the Sahel (GGWISS) in Niger territory. Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock:
6. The ministry designs, develops, implements and assesses the development policies, strategies, projects and programs in the areas of agriculture, livestock, and rural equipment. It is also responsible for disseminating the results of agronomic, veterinary, zoo-technical research, rural technologies and supplying of farmers and farmer organizations with inputs and equipment. The MAG/L comprises at the central level: the Directorate General of Agriculture (DGA); the General Directorate of Production and Animal Industries (DGP/AI); the Directorate General of Rural Engineering (DGRE); the Directorate General of Plant Protection (DGPP). In addition, it ensures among other things, the supervision of the Permanent Secretariat of Rural Code (SPCR) and the National Office of Hydro-Agricultural Development (ONAHA).
Ministry of Finance and National Planning:
7. The ministry oversees the overall prioritisation of national development projects across the country. It coordinates development partnerships with donor agencies and offers technical support regarding project processes in the country. In this project, the ministry will offer technical support to the project steering committee as well as to the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock as the joint Executing Agency of the project.
World Resources Institute (WRI):
8. WRI will be an executing partner of the government?s executing agencies. WRI will support and provide technical expertise on land restoration and restoration monitoring systems; support capacity building activities and improving enabling conditions for greater resilience of livelihoods. It will also support compiling lessons learned, good practices and success stories from the project. WRI will also coordinate efforts with the private sector (Nigerien enterprises in land management and restoration (e.g. IBS Agro Industries); private investors active in West Africa and interested in Niger?s agricultural and forestry sectors (e.g. Injaro Agriculture Capital, Livelihood Venture, Lundin Foundation); the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) and the AFR100 financial partner (Permian Global, Form International, Terra Global Capital, Acumen, and Green Fund). WRI will also be instrumental in supporting the government in identifying and marshalling viable eco-tourism business opportunities for the project area.
Agricultural Development Bank (BAGRI):
9. The Bank has vast experience working with farmers in the provision of financial services to them. In the development of value chains, the Bank will support the project in structuring value chain financial chains to promising smallholders to expand their capacities to produce more. Additionally, the Bank will offer technical support to the joint Executing Agency arrangement between the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. The technical support reflects the Bank?s comparative advantage and promised role in the project at activity execution level ? this level of technical support will be consistent and follow IFAD?s authorized budgeted work plan? therefore, the Bank?s involvement has nothing to do with flow of funds from IFAD to the Agricultural Development Bank.
The Office of the High Commissioner for 3 N Initiative "Nigeriens feed Nigeriens":
10. The 3N Initiative (3NI) was established by Decree No. 2011-408 / PRN of 6 September 2011 with a mission to stimulate, lead, coordinate, monitor and evaluate the implementation of the 3N Initiative programs. The 3NI is a reflection of the strong political will and commitment of the President of the Republic of Niger to improve the performance of the agriculture sector in Niger. For example, the President seeks to improve rice production so that the country can be self-sufficient and stop importing rice in 2023.[1] The 3NI is a pillar program built on the achievements of the Rural Development Strategy embedded in the national-level implementation of the Comprehensive Development Plan for Agriculture in Africa (CAADP), the ECOWAS Common Agricultural Policy (ECOWAP), and the WAEMU Agricultural Policy (PAW). The overall objective of 3NI is to enable the Republic of Niger to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially the SDG2 and Target 2.4.1. The chronic deficit of food products, particularly cereals, food insecurity is a constant source of concern and exacerbating levels of poverty in the rural areas. The Office of the High Commissioner, in pursuant of the Economic and Social Development Plan (ESDP 2017-2021), oversees the implementation of the 3NI; its activities focused on modern farming techniques, access water and value chains for agro-silvo-pastoral and fisheries production in line with the strategy's guidelines, energy, infrastructure and economic services such as Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), etc. For this project, empowerment of rural women and the youth with entrepreneurship will be part of the implementation strategies. The ESDP 2017 - 2021 affirms the commitment of the government of Niger to transforming the country at all levels, with particular attention to eradicating poverty and inequality.
National Environment Council for Sustainable Development (CNEDD):
11. As the political focal point of conventions and protocols on environment and sustainable development, it submits at the end of each year, a report on the situation of the environment and sustainable development and meets twice a year in regular session. The National Environment Council for Sustainable Development (CNEDD) has an Executive Secretariat (SE/CNEDD) established in the Office of the Prime Minister, in charge of preparing and implementing the Government decisions. At the level of regions, the respondents of the CNEDD are mainly the Regional Environment Councils for Sustainable Development.
Ministry of Community Development and Land-use Planning:
12. This ministry designs, prepares, implements and evaluates development policies, strategies, projects and programs in the areas of community and land use planning. It is also in charge of the following actions: elaboration and monitoring of the implementation of the national community development strategy; coordination of development actions at regional and local level; promotion of decentralized funding; coordination and conduct of land-use planning studies at national and regional level. In this project, the ministry will provide technical guidance in the development of the management plans.
Ministry of Finance and Planning:
13. The ministry is assigned, among other tasks, to oversee and guide the formulation of a long- term development vision; elaboration of the State's multi-year investment programs; monitoring and implementation of the Economic and Social Development Plan (ESDP); elaboration of a comprehensive strategic development planning framework. The ministry will be fully involved in the validation and approval of work plans to ensure they are consistent with the country?s development planning priorities.
The Permanent Secretariat for Rural Code (PSRC):
14. The PSRC is in charge of the elaboration, extension and monitoring the enforcement of the Rural Code, assisted by Permanent Secretaries established in the different regions, departments, and communes. It was established by Article 123 of Ordinance 93-015 of March 2, 1993 on the Guiding Principles of the Rural Code, and its responsibilities and operating procedures are set out by the Decree No. 97-008 / PRN / MAG / EL of 10th January 1997 on the organization, responsibilities and operation of the institutions in charge of enforcement of the Rural Code?s guiding principles. The PSRC is structured around security for rural operators; conservation and management of natural resources; organization of the rural areas; and land-use planning. The SPRC is supported in its activities by the National Committee for Rural Code (CNCR) which is a very high-level inter-ministerial body in charge of defining the main orientations, formulation of land policies, popularization and monitoring the enforcement of the guiding principles of the rural code. It should be noted that the functions of CNCR, as well as those of its other bodies, are specified by Decree No. 97-008 / PRN / MAG / EL of 10th January 1997 on the organization, powers, and functioning of the institutions responsible for the enforcement of the guiding principles of the Rural Code. The SPRC will therefore, be very instrumental in providing orientation on the biodiversity conservation and land restoration activities to ensure they are aligned with the Dosso Rural Code. This project is also proposed at the opportune time when Niger is in the process of developing a national land policy. The development process is multi-sectoral and involves relevant stakeholders.
Office of the High Commissioner for the State Modernization (HCME):
15. HCME was established to design, supervise, coordinate, monitor and evaluate all actions aimed at modernizing the State and territorial communities in accordance with the guidelines defined by the government. HCME has led the elaboration of the legal and institutional mechanisms for decentralization. Additionally, in fostering the decentralization process, HCME has supported the drafting of a General Code of Territorial Communities, including the texts in the law to establish the financial support mechanism for local authorities through the National Agency for community based funding (ANFICT). 16. With the advent of the 7th Republic, and within the framework of the guidelines of the Niger Renaissance Program (PRN), and in accordance with the objectives of the Prime Minister's General Policy Statement, the HCME undertook several projects to carry out practical actions of modernization. The year 2013 saw the concretization of the document of National Policy of the State Modernization (PNME), the maturation of the Dynamic Process of Modernization of Public Services, the launching of a study on behavior change for leaders and citizens, the drafting of procedures manuals for public administration and the starting up of activities of the project for State Modernization and Decentralization in Niger. This project will therefore, draw on the HCME for guidance in development benefit sharing mechanisms to support conservation of both giraffes and hippos.
Decentralised public administrations
Municipal Council:
17. A deliberative body established at the level of each Commune. It is composed of elected members (confirmed municipal councilors) and ex-officio members with consultative votes (deputies not members of the municipal council, sultans, traditional rulers such as Chief of province, chief of the canton or the group). The duration of the tenure is five (5) years. The Municipal Council of Dosso will be an important stakeholder in the creating platform for stakeholders at local level during the planning of project activities.
Decentralized technical services:
18. These services are under the administrative responsibility of the regional governors (ministers' representatives) and the prefects. The different ministerial departments have one or more directorates in the eight regions (including the urban community of Niamey). These directorates perform the duties and functions of the national departments and coordinate the activities of the services and projects in their respective areas of competence. Some ministerial departments, especially those in charge of rural development are provided with extensive monitoring, up to the level of urban communes and some rural Communes. The activities are coordinated by the departmental services under the responsibility of the regional directorates.
Private sector and civil society institutions
The Network of Chambers of Agriculture of Niger (RECA):
19. The regional chambers of agriculture (CRA), their national structures and the National Network of Chambers of Agriculture (RECA) ensure the representation of rural producers in all national and local bodies and can engage them through agricultural conventions (law n ? 2000-15 of August 21, 2000 creating the Regional Chambers of Agriculture of Niger and its text of application, Decree N ? 2001-105 / PRN / MDR of 18 May 2001). Non-governmental organizations (NGOs):
20. Many national and international NGOs are working in the environmental area at the national, regional or local level. Among the national NGOs, those particularly involved in desertification control are gathered within the National Coordinating Committee of NGOs/ADs and CBOs on Desertification (CNCOD). The proposed project will closely work in the project area with NGOs listed in the stakeholder analysis section.
Wild Africa Conservation (WAC):
21. WAC is an international NGO created to act alongside the Government of Niger in the management, rehabilitation and conservation of Park W. WAC has just initiated the implementation of an emergency plan in Niger, and from the beginning of 2021 will be undertaken with direct finance support from the European Union, in close collaboration with the Nigerien Wildlife Authority and technical partners such as African Parks, GIZ and ZSL, to secure the W Park core area and its periphery. The two main objectives of the emergency plan are to create highly trained and skilled monitoring and protection team for W Park and strengthen the relationship with periphery local communities by promoting green economy and providing sustainable jobs based on improving local value chains.
Private sector
22. The involvement of the private sector will be made through the development of value chains of agricultural, pastoral and non-timber forest products, popularization of technological kits and ecotourism that will be established by the project etc. The micro-businesses developed by women and young people will be particularly favored ? focusing on activities to promote ecotourism and reducing pressure on land biodiversity resources. The main private sector?s actors involved in the project activities include among others: farmers? organizations and grassroots community organizations, eco-tourist groups and women's groups and youth organizations. 23. Regarding the private sector, despite the significant investment potential of NRM, few modern institutions or organizations are active. However, there is a tendency towards the constitution of a relatively private structured organisation around certain sectors of NTFPs. Some of the organisations active in the project area working with smallholder producers include: the FUSA?A seed company based in Dosso for the sale of seeds; Alheri based in Doutchi specialised in screening / wrapping / packaging of agricultural products; the Tashi Ga Kanki cooperative based in Guechem?; Gani Ya Kori Ji cooperative based in Guidan Gaber (Gaya); and Haoua Zaley Federation based in Moussa dey (Dosso) Maibida Bashi Rashi for the transformation of agricultural produce.
National training and research institutions
24. Faculties of Sciences, Geography and Agronomy of Abdou Moumouni University of Niamey (UAMN) have been carrying out for many years studies and research in several areas relating to biological diversity management, desertification control and land restoration in the Dallol Bosso, including studies related to soil management and the conservation of Giraffes etc. In addition to UAMN, seven other specialized universities were established between 2010 and 2014, namely: the University of Dosso (Telecommunication Networks and Multimedia Professions), the University of Tahoua (includes a Faculty of Law and Economics, a Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and a Faculty of Education Sciences ); the University of Maradi (includes faculties of: Science and Technology, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Health Sciences and Mixed Research Units); the University of Zinder (which includes faculties of Arts and Human Sciences, Health Sciences, and Education Sciences); the University of Diffa (Higher Institute for the Environment and a Faculty in Agronomy), which also includes an Environmental and Ecological Monitoring Unit, a Peace and Development Unit and a Quality Assurance Unit; the University of Dosso (Faculty of Science and Technology, University Institute of Technology, Higher Institute of Fossil and Renewable Energy); the University of Tillab?ri whose main areas of training and research is agro-food technology and nutrition in order to strengthen food security in Niger.
Research Institute in Human Sciences (IRSH):
25. IRSH is the melting pot for important studies and research in socio-environmental, archaeological and paleontological areas. The National Institute for Agricultural Research of Niger (INRAN): INRAN, which is supervised by MAG / EL, works in the fields of ecological research and improvement of biological diversity, soil, etc. The National Geographic Institute of Niger (IGNN): has a very good expertise and appropriate equipment in cartography. The Technical Institute for Rural Development (IPDR): IPDR trains middle level students in the areas of Rural Development.
Regional Agro-Hydro-Meteorology Center (CR/AGRHYMET):
26. The AGRHYMET Regional Center is a specialized institution of CILSS based in Niamey. It is an interstate public institution with legal personality and financial autonomy. Established in 1974, its mission, redefined in 1994, is to be "a regional tool, specialized in sciences and techniques applicable to the sectors of agricultural development, planning of rural space and management of the natural resources, in charge of promoting information and training in the area of agro-ecology. "
African Center for Meteorology Applications to Development (ACMAD):
27. ACMAD aims at contributing to the sustainable development of its fifty-three (53) member states (the 53 countries of the African continent) through its areas of investigation: meteorology and climate. Its main activities are short and medium-term weather forecasting, climate watch, seasonal forecasting and training of African meteorologists in new techniques and technologies. Every year, about fifty African meteorologists get three (3) months training.
ICRISAT Sahelian Center: 28. Through its international research activities, the ICRISAT Sahelian center based in Niamey, offers many opportunities in the areas of agriculture and biological diversity conservation.
Development Research Institute (IRD):
29. Formerly ORSTOM (Institut Fran?ais de Recherche Scientifique pour le D?veloppement en Coop?ration), IRD is interested in ecosystem management issues.
Local authorities
30. Local authorities are charged with the responsibility of regulating socioeconomic but also administrative matters in their jurisdictions. Consistent with article 12 of the Law 2002-013 of June 11, 2002, these authorities have the mandate to engage in development planning processes related to land, economic development, planning, spatial planning and town planning, environment and natural resource management, education and literacy, livestock, agriculture, fishing, hydraulics, administration and finance, equipment, infrastructure and transport, health, social development, communication and culture, youth, sports and leisure, tourism and crafts. It should be noted that each level of local authority has its own powers, management autonomy, its own budget, its own bodies. The relationship in intervention in development programs is more cooperative than hierarchical.
Village authorities recognized by the administration
31. These are customary or traditional authorities such as heads of the cantons, heads of the villages, or religious authorities. Their representation is based on legitimacy as agreed upon by community members. They play a very important role in natural resource management and custodian of customary rights. They are usually the first points of contact and entry when mobilizing community for their participation. For example, they are responsible for settling land disputes at village level.
Mode of stakeholder engagement
32. During the project concept and preparation stages, various stakeholders were consulted at different administrative tiers. As noted in the above wide range of stakeholders, these ranged from government and government-quasi agencies, civil society organisations, research institutions, conservation groups to the private entities. This was in recognition of the fact that the successful implementation of the project will largely depend on the collaboration and engagement with the key stakeholders. Therefore, during implementation stage, the project will build on the preliminary consultations with the stakeholders listed above to continue engaging the stakeholders to, among others, further discuss risks and refine mitigation measures, intervention strategies, design and revise adaptative management strategies and implementation modalities as the case may be. 33. The primary mode of stakeholder engagement throughout the project cycle will be focused on consultations at appropriate levels, depending on the stakeholders and the required role. In this regard, consultations will remain part of the project preparation, but also implementation at national, regional and local levels. Field visits, meetings, and where possible and as appropriate, workshops and trainings, will constitute means of keeping stakeholders engaged. As noted, the how will in part be determined by the stakeholders concerned for a specific role or function to be played in the project. The underpinning rationale is that all key stakeholders are engaged in a manner that enables them to effectively play their role to the successful implementation of the project. 34. Additionally, other modes of engagement with stakeholders will be based on information dissemination, partnerships and participation. The project will develop a robust information dissemination mechanisms to ensure that relevant stakeholders have access to the project information, particularly the information intended to encourage behaviour change in the management of natural resources in the project catchment area. Information will also be disseminated to stakeholder for policy reform to improve resource management in Niger, beyond the project catchment area. These modes of engagement will be underpinned by principles of commitment that will recognize the need to understand, engage and identify the stakeholders and consult them in implementation process.
35. Integrity, trust and transparency in the mode of engagement will ensure that consultations and engagement are conducted in a manner that fosters mutual respect and trust among all stakeholders concerned, making sure that there is effectiveness and efficiency in stakeholder engagement processes ? supporting meaningful and respectful dialogues that are sensitive to local stakeholder socio-cultural environment. The principle of Respect of rights, cultural beliefs, values and interests of stakeholders and affected communities will remain cardinal in recognition of stakeholder socio-cultural differences. Inclusiveness will be upheld to ensure that broad participation is encouraged and supported in all participation opportunities, including unrestricted access to consultation meetings and information that will benefit concerned stakeholders.
36. The table below details the project?s stakeholder engagement plan. It is noted here that the planned stakeholder plan is likely to be affected by the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic in Niger. Therefore, the plan includes virtual/on-line meetings to ensure an appreciable level of stakeholder engagement in the project during its implementation stage so that key and strategic partners play their role to the extent possible.
Table of stakeholder engagement plan Engagement Stakeholders Purpose of engagement technique and partners Virtual/on-line ? Government Depending on the evolution of COVID-19 in Niger, virtual meetings meetings officials may be very important in: ?NGO?s and ?Project information distribution to key and strategic stakeholders conservation and partners Organisations ?To gather views from key and strategic stakeholders and partners in ? Private the project sector ? Project adaptive management measures, if necessary ?National institutional partners, including national research institutions Information ? ?Establish Information Boards in each Project area community. Centre and Neighbouring Information communities Boards ? Vulnerable Groups ?NGO?s and conservation organisations ? Local communities Correspondence ? Government ?Distribute project information to government officials, by phone, email, officials organizations, agencies and companies text, and instant ?NGO?s and ? Invite stakeholders to meetings messaging conservation Organisations ? Private sector ?National institutional partners, including national research institutions Print media and ? ?Disseminate project information to large audiences, and illiterate radio Neighbouring stakeholders announcements communities ? Inform stakeholders about consultation meetings ? Vulnerable Groups ?NGO?s and conservation organisations ? Local communities One-on-one ? ? Solicit views and opinions interviews Neighbouring ? Enable stakeholders to speak freely and confidentially about communities controversial and sensitive issues ? Vulnerable ? Build personal relations with stakeholders Groups ? Recording of interviews ?NGO?s and conservation organisations Formal ? Government ? Present project information to a group of stakeholders meetings officials ?Allow the group of stakeholders to provide their views and ?NGO?s and opinions conservation ? Build impersonal relations with high level stakeholders Organisations ? Distribute technical documents ? Private ?Facilitate meetings using PowerPoint presentations Record sector discussions, comments/questions raised and responses ?National institutional partners, including national research institutions Public meetings ? ?Present project information to a large audience of stakeholders, and Neighbouring in particular communities communities ?Allow the group of stakeholders to provide their views and ? Vulnerable opinions Groups ?Build relationships with neighbouring communities ?NGO?s and ?Distribute non-technical project information conservation ?Facilitate meetings using PowerPoint presentations, posters, Organisations models, videos and pamphlets or project information documents ? Private ?Record discussions, comments/questions raised and responses sector ? Local communities ?National institutional partners, including national research institutions Workshops ? ? Present project information to a group of stakeholders Allow the Neighbouring group of stakeholders to provide their views and opinions communities ?Use participatory exercises to facilitate group discussions, ? Vulnerable brainstorm issues, analyse information, and develop Groups recommendations and strategies ?NGO?s and ? Recording of responses conservation organisations ? Local communities ?National institutional partners, including national research institutions Focus group ? ?Allow a smaller group of between 8 and 15 people to provide their meetings Neighbouring views and opinions of targeted baseline information communities ? Build relationships with neighbouring communities ? Vulnerable ? Use a focus group interview guideline to facilitate discussions Groups ? Record responses ?NGO?s and conservation organisations ? Local communities Surveys ? ?Gather opinions and views from individual stakeholders Neighbouring ? Gather baseline data communities ? Record data ? Vulnerable ? Develop a baseline database for monitoring impacts Groups ?NGO?s and conservation organisations ? Local communities
[1] Niger plans to stops importing rice in 2023 http://french.xinhuanet.com/afrique/2019- 07/20/c_138242784.htm
In addition, provide a summary on how stakeholders will be consulted in project execution, the means and timing of engagement, how information will be disseminated, and an explanation of any resource requirements throughout the project/program cycle to ensure proper and meaningful stakeholder engagement
Select what role civil society will play in the project:
Consulted only;
Member of Advisory Body; Contractor; Yes Co-financier; Yes
Member of project steering committee or equivalent decision-making body; Yes
Executor or co-executor; Yes
Other (Please explain)
3. Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment
Provide the gender analysis or equivalent socio-economic assesment.
1. Niger has one of the highest degrees of gender inequality in the world[1] though the Constitution grants equal rights to all regardless of gender. Niger ratified the CEDAW in 1999, and the Optional Protocol in 2004. Niger has also signed but not ratified the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples? Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. A Ministry of Social Development, Population, Advancement of Women and Protection of Children has been in place since 1998. The Government adopted a National Gender Policy in August 2008, which represents a reference framework for the promotion of equity and gender equality. The policy encapsulates different development sectors with the guidance to addressing the different needs of women and men. For the implementation of this national policy, a ten-year plan (2009-2018) was developed and adopted in May 2009, and an institutional framework established for implementation. The overarching objective of the policy is to ?build, with all actors, a society, without discrimination, where men and women, girls and boys, have the same opportunities to participate in development and enjoy the benefits of growth.? Despite the existence of this policy with such an ambitious objective, the reality on the ground in Niger is that gender inequality, especially the level of implication of women and the youth and the extent to which they play influential role in decision making pertaining to the sustainable management of genetic resources and natural resources broadly, is still very limited in the country. During the project preparatory phase, a number of constraints have been identified as the limiting factors for gender equality in the environment and sustainable development pursuits in Niger including the fact that the Nigerien society is 99.3% Muslim and other factors such as: high rate of adult illiteracy with significant gaps between men and women; poor integration of gender issue in various social programs, weak implementation of the National Gender Policy (PNG); low participation of women in civil society organizations; low consideration of gender including the involvement and contributions of women and the youth in the conservation of biological diversity.
2. Niger has made commendable steps toward reducing gender gaps. At the international level, Niger has ratified most international conventions on human rights in general and those that promote equal opportunities for men and women in particular. Niger?s Constitution recognizes the same rights for men and women for access to services and resources, while other laws and regulations also grant equal rights to men and women. Furthermore, after setting up the Ministry for the Promotion of Women and the Protection of Children, the Government created the Directorate of Women?s Economic Empowerment in the same ministry to implement strategic objectives related to women empowerment.[2]. Indeed, over the past few years, Niger has increasingly witnessed the slow but gradual implication of women and the youth in the transformation, valorisation and commercialisation of plant-based products. This can be seen through the participation of some of them in national and local fairs, exhibitions and open days. This participation of women and the youth is either done collectively in the context of an organised/interest group or individually. The most prominent sectors that are benefiting from this enhanced participation of women and the youth are agricultural production (millet, sesame, peanuts, spices, tigernuts etc) and exploitation and transformation of non-timber forest products such as shea, moringa, balanites, cucurbits, capparaceae (boscia from Senegal), anacardiaceae (plum tree), honey, etc.
3. However, despite the commendable steps in terms of ratifications, the Republic of Niger recognises difficulties that women face in decision-making and this affects their level of participation in access to natural resources. The government therefore makes deliberate efforts to ensure that all development institutions consider gender concerns in all their activities. All project activities should operationally reflect gender equality. The Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) are also instrumental in narrowing the gender rift in the country. Principally, the CONGAFEN, a confederation of NGOs and women?s association, coordinates more than 51 NGOs and women's Associations, and plays an important role in the promotion of women's strategic interests, improvement of their living conditions and working environment, and promotion of their status and basic rights. 4. From a collective engagement perspective, some of the actors that exemplify the enhanced implication of women that are worth stressing here include:
- The Federation of Shea Butter Producers of Niger (FNPK / Boulanga) which manufactures pure shea butter, as well as a shea ointment and soap and commercializes these products under their own brand name "KARINIA". This federation includes 359 women from 4 unions spread over 14 groups. These groups are spread along the borders of Burkina Faso, Benin and Nigeria, between Tillab?ry and Dosso in the high production shea areas of Niger. The Federation's turnover rose from 7,000,000 CFA francs in 2010-2011, to 12,517,000 CFA francs in 2012-2013.
- The "Douma alheri, arziki talaka" group, which means "the calabash, the wealth of the poor" from Tankieta (Zinder region) which extracts oil from the calabash grains through traditional processes. This oil recipe was discovered by a peasant woman following her use of gourd seeds in the preparation of the sauce for a family meal. In this process, this peasant woman noticed that these seeds contain oil. Locally, the price of a liter of oil varies between 1,250 F CFA and 1,500 F CFA. This product is not known in towns in the region and women are essentially the main producer of this very valuable oil.
- The ?Salma Harey? women's group from T?ra that is involved in the transformation and commercialisation of moringa into juice and powder. This group operates 2 hectares fully fenced and equipped with a Californian irrigation system powered by a photovoltaic pump financed by the UNDP. In addition, this group also transforms grains of balanites and sesame into oil.
5. The three initiatives covered above as examples of the improving trend in Niger regarding women?s inclusion in economically viable initiatives are in line with one of UNEP key messages on gender responsive COVID 19 actions. This is because these initiatives contribute to poverty alleviation and therefore to SDG1. This project takes the gender inclusion seriously into consideration especially women and youth empowerment. With the inclusion of established organisations such as those mentioned above and through them the ambition is to benefit individual women and the youth during the planned sensitisation, awareness and capacity building, the project aims to reach 20000 beneficiaries among whom 13000 men and 7000 women. It is important to note that a 50/50 split (10000 men and 10000 women) on the targeted number of beneficiaries would have been more ambitious and more reflective of the objective of the national policy. The project will in practice working toward achieving that parity. However, considering that the cultural and traditional realities of a predominantly muslin society, unearthing a considerable pool of women willing to attend meetings and other training be it with men or even just in women focussed groups will be challenging. Where possible and depending on the availability of women, the youth and the extent to which they are going to be receptive of the public information and awareness raising activities, the project plans to include a significant number of women and young people in all of the capacity building, communication and training activities. As a way of monitoring and measuring gender inclusion, gender sensitive indicators are included across the project?s outputs. To this effect, the project is going to rely on and work with the groups such as those mentioned above but also with other women-centred organisations such as CONGAFEN, a CSO that coordinates 51 women?s NGOs and associations in Niger. Indeed, CONGAFEN plays an important role in improving the living conditions and working environment of women and promote women?s rights. The project will work with CONGAFEN to support gender mainstreaming and facilitate access to information materials thus ultimately ensuring adequate women implication in the project activities.
6. This umbrella organization is highly represented throughout the country. It organizes periodic fora for experience sharing, awareness campaigns, training sessions and advocacy. Unfortunately, these women's organizations are confronted with human, financial and material challenges, leading to inadequate knowledge and harmonization of their interventions on the ground as well as limited access to communication means which undermine their mobilization capacities for interventions. This project will draw on the experiences of CONGAFEN and take advantage of its presence across the country to ensure that the interests of women are fully reflected and represented in the project. The project will also engage CONGAFEN member groups to support mobilisation of women to structure meaningful participatory processes to involve women in identifying and prioritizing activities, including decision- making processes. 7. This proposed project recognizes the socio-cultural norms and gendered patterns of resource access. In Niger women do not have the same level of access to land as their male counterparts. Additionally, although less prevalent than in the past, patriarchal power relations are deeply rooted in rural society and act as a powerful hindrance on women?s chances to own land.[3] This translates to real bottlenecks for women?s economic empowerment in Niger. Equally, the project recognises the dependence of women on provisioning services of forests that this project seeks to sustainably manage. In this regard, gender sensitive and responsive approaches will be ensured to integrate women in alternative livelihood activities, eco-tourism jobs and the promotion of biodiversity-sensitive agricultural production systems. Biodiversity sensitization and land rehabilitation/restoration programs will deliberately ensure women participation. Gender equity in the socio-economic benefits of this project will benefit the whole project catchment area. Looking at the demographic dynamics between men and women, gender consideration for this project will not be an option, but part of the design to ensure that the project delivers on its development objective. In line with the national gender policy, gender will be considered as a cross-cutting issue to be mainstreamed into all components of the project. 8. Based on the interactions with community members, and particularly women groups in the Dosso region during the preparation phase, it was established that women have been involved in alternative income generating activities including rice production and the harvesting of gum arabic. To improve the production and marketing of gum arabic, women are organised in cooperatives. Women are involved in land preparation and harvesting, while men are involved during planting and marketing stages. Therefore, these culturally existing orientations will be taken advantage of to promote women participation in alternative livelihood activities. The proposed project will build on existing local-level structures to mainstream gender consideration for better socio-economic outcomes that do not disadvantage women and the youth.
Women integration in the project
9. The thematic studies that have informed the development of this project revealed the critical role that women have been playing in addressing resource depletion and soil degradation in the project catchment area. Additionally, the communal development plans within the project catchment area recognize the need for a gender-sensitive approach to development projects. Thus, for example, the project will aim to include at least 3,000 smallholder producers to become market literate in selected value chains. Of this number of producers, at least 50% will be female producers. Through their participation in the trainings, their post-harvest losses will be reduced by about 50%.
10. The Fakara Commune Development Plan developed in 2020, for example, includes actions of land reclamation, plantations, promotion of natural regeneration and environmental education. One of the main strategic axes is on the promotion of economic activities and empowerment of women, youth and vulnerable people. Additionally, the 2020 Kiota Commune Development Plan includes strengthening the technical and organizational capacities of actors in the socio- economic sectors of the municipality as well as promoting women and child protection.[4] Therefore, consistent with the Niger?s constitutional aspirations to promote and foster the same rights for men and women for access to services and resources, this project will strategically ensure gender inclusion in the project activities and processes processes throughout the project cycle. Underpinning principles for gender integration in project activities and processes will include the following considerations:
Building on consultations with female-headed homes, women-led groups and cooperatives, the project has integrated gender considerations from the very beginning of project conception and build a momentum to guide and inform gender mainstreaming throughout the project cycle . Learn and include lessons from previous interventions in gender in Niger, particularly integrating gender aspects in the project in a way that responds to concerns of gender inequality raised in the 2019 World Bank Group assessment of the Economic Impacts of Gender Inequality in Niger. Design training modules for staff on gender in the first year to improve their capacities for gender mainstreaming in natural resource management projects. The project will consider access to financing and assets and knowledge on sustainable management of natural resources that are responsive to the specific needs of women to include and address gender gaps in access to lucrative livelihoods but also knowledge. Additionally, the project will deliberately include staff with professional experience and expertise in gender to support the integration of gender aspects in project activities and processes. Project performance on gender will be monitored and reported on. The project will adopt a gender and development approach that engages men and women to promote gender equality and transform gender relations in project locations. Using a win-win approach in which men and women perceive gains in shifting gender norms is also important to support sustainable change. This is likely to lead to improved food security and access to productive resources at household level. There are socio-cultural aspects that thwart efforts to improve gender mainstreaming. While respecting the socio-cultural and traditional practices, the project will engage relevant stakeholders to support the promotion of practices that are gender-sensitive and encourage equal access to resources and exercise of decision-making power among both men and women. Therefore, information dissemination using radio programs involving traditional leaders, development practitioners, local level policy-makers and religious leaders will prove useful. These programs will also address issues regarding sexual and gender-based violence as these influence the ability of women to participate in project activities and processes. Finally, the project will ensure a gender-inclusive approach in decision-making processes at all levels. In this regard, the project will be sensitive to gender inclusion in the organisational structure of the project. Thus, qualified women will be given equal opportunities to serve in the Project Steering Committee, the Project Management Unit, or as Project Technical Coordinators or in any other positions of the project organisational structure.
[1] UNDP Gender Inequality Index, ibid. [2] World Bank Group (2019). Economic Impacts Of Gender Inequality in Niger https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/33093/Economic-Impacts-of-Gender- Inequality-in-Niger.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
[3] ibd [4] Etude relative ? la Gestion des Ressources Naturelles dans le cadre de la formulation du Projet ? Promotion de la production agricole durable et de la conservation des esp?ces cl?s de la biodiversit? par la restauration des terres et l'utilisation efficace des ?cosyst?mes dans le Dallol Bosso et ses environs (PROSAP / COKEBIOS)?
Does the project expect to include any gender-responsive measures to address gender gaps or promote gender equality and women empowerment?
Yes Closing gender gaps in access to and control over natural resources; Yes
Improving women's participation and decision making Yes
Generating socio-economic benefits or services or women Yes
Does the project?s results framework or logical framework include gender-sensitive indicators?
Yes 4. Private sector engagement
Elaborate on the private sector's engagement in the project, if any.
1. The institutional and political framework of NRM in Niger is broadly oriented towards the inclusion and participation of all stakeholders. One of the institutional lacunas in wildlife conservation in Niger is that there are no operational frameworks that work for: i) decentralized management of natural resources by communities, communes or other public bodies grouped together; and ii) public-private conservation partnerships, particularly in the management of protected areas. There is very little incentive for local populations and other stakeholders to invest in the conservation of biodiversity in general and wildlife in particular.[1] Additionally, the challenge remains at the level of synergy, complementarity, subsidiarity and respect for institutional mandates in the implementation of interventions. This is all pertinent to the COKEBIOS project which will implement actions to develop and manage shared resources and spaces.[2] 2. The engagement of the private sector in what should be viewed as BioTrade in Niger, there is a healthy level of activity happening in this area. It must be stressed that this mode of exploitation (BioTrade) of biological resources such as NTFPs and their commercialisation as commodities. The private sector engaged in the BioTrade of certain commodities in Niger and other actors e.g., the collectors and suppliers of these commodities will greatly enhance the ethical, sustainability and socio-economic outcomes of their activities if they operate within the framework of national regulations. According to UNCTAD ?BioTrade is defined as the collection, production, transformation, and commercialization of biodiversity-based goods and services that meet specific sustainability criteria?.[3] Two cases of private sector engagement in this field are worth highlighting in Niger. The first one is a company called the Sahara Sahel Foods. It is a Nigerien social enterprise involved in the transformation and commercialisation as edible food of the bitter seeds of Boscia senegalensis. Also, this company transforms and commercialises more than 50 products derived from 20 known trees from Niger. An important element of the many value chains in which Sahara Sahel Foods is involved is that the company relies on a network of about 1500 individual collectors to supply the raw materials. The second example is the Nigerien company Starco Global[4] which is involved in the production and commercialisation of 100% Bio Natura Juice drinks transformed from the following plant species: Diospiros mespiliformis; Ziziphus mautiana; Sclerocarya bierra; Hyphenea thebaica; Adansonia digitata; Balanites aegyptiaca; and Moringa oleifera. In addition to the natural drinks, the company produces and commercialises products such as syrups, herbal teas, coffees, jams, candies, cookies and cakes. In the absence of a national regulatory framework on ABS that implement the Nagoya Protocol in Niger, it is not clear how the principles of prior informed consent (PIC) were framed in their business approaches, and whether there is fair and equitable sharing of the benefits deriving from the commercialisation of their products, based on mutually agreed terms (MAT) between the companies on the one hand, the State and plant collectors/suppliers of raw materials on the other hand. 3. Recognizing this institutional barriers, the project will seek to engage the private sector in its activities. Thus, consistent with component 2, and as recommended by the thematic study on natural resource management to inform this project, the project will support eco-tourism through infrastructure development in Koure to trigger and facilitate private sector collaboration in biodiversity conservation. Additionally, the involvement of the private sector will be made through the development of value chains of agricultural, pastoral and non-timber forest products, popularization of technological kits and ecotourism that will be established by the project etc. The micro-businesses developed by women and young people will be particularly favored ? focusing on activities to promote ecotourism and reducing pressure on land biodiversity resources. The main private sector?s actors involved in the project activities include among others: farmers? organizations and grassroots community organizations, eco- tourist groups and women's groups and youth organizations. 4. Finally, during the first year of project implementation, conversations will continue to identify private sector entities in the development of cage fish farming, in response to thematic study findings regarding the diversification of livelihood sources that have potential for triggering private sector involvement for biodiversity conservation and reducing reliance on the exploitation of land resources.
[1] Government of Niger (2020). Etude sur la conservation de deux esp?ces cl?s et la cr?ation d?une Aire Prot?g?e dans le cadre de l??laboration des documents de la phase op?rationnelle du projet ? Promotion de la production agricole durable et de la conservation des esp?ces cl?s de la biodiversit? par la restauration des terres et l'utilisation efficace des ?cosyst?mes dans le Dallol Bosso et ses environs (PROSAP / COKEBIOS) ?
[2] Government of Niger (2020). Etude relative ? la Gestion des Ressources Naturelles dans le cadre de la formulation du Projet ? Promotion de la production agricole durable et de la conservation des esp?ces cl?s de la biodiversit? par la restauration des terres et l'utilisation efficace des ?cosyst?mes dans le Dallol Bosso et ses environs (PROSAP / COKEBIOS)?
[3] See UNCTAD definition, principles and criteria of BioTrade at: Launch of the 2020 BioTrade Principles and Criteria: Making sustainable trade part of the solution | UNCTAD.
[4] https://www.fasbook.com/pg/starco-global-produits-392264938054014/about/?ref=page_internal
5. Risks to Achieving Project Objectives
Elaborate on indicated risks, including climate change, potential social and environmental risks that might prevent the project objectives from being achieved, and, if possible, the proposed measures that address these risks at the time of project implementation.(table format acceptable):
1. The table below outlines the principal assumptions/risks, their relative magnitude or severity and the mitigating approaches that are considered. One of these risks which is worth highlighting here is the evolution of the current health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite all the efforts and strategies that are being considered in preparation to the implementation of this project, the uncertainty surrounding the potential evolution of the spread of COVID-19 and the need to comply with all the measures set by the government may adversely impact the organization of training and capacity building activities, the scheduling of workshops and may even affect co-financing pledges, if organisations consider redirecting their scarce resources to fight the pandemic. The UN environment is very conscious of impact of COVID-19 in the social, environmental and economic dimensions of our lives, acknowledging that: ?The transmission of diseases, like the Novel Coronavirus COVID-19, between animals and humans (zoonoses) threatens economic development, animal and human well-being, and ecosystem integrity. The United Nations Environment Programme supports global efforts to protect biodiversity, to put an end to the illegal trade in wildlife, to safeguard the handling of chemicals and waste and to promote economic recovery plans that take nature and the climate emergency into account?. In a move that signals the strong acknowledgement of the impact of the pandemic to UNEP activities and in stressing what UNEP priorities are, the executive director of UNEP clearly stated that: ?The immediate priority at this time is to protect people by limiting the spread of COVID-19?. In the context of the implementation of this project, saving people lives while ensuring the attainment of the project?s results is the principle that will guide its overall deployment on the ground.
2. While the impact of COVID-19 on our lives has been severe and the potential of the pandemic to affect this project remains real but this cannot deter the organisations involved in this project to make it a success, COVID-19 should equally be seen as an opportunity for the project like this one which includes a valorization dimension. In effect, while COVID-19 finds its roots from our human beings (mis)use of nature, the high and yet to be known and understood medicinal potential of nature, e.g. medicinal plants can very much contribute to the ongoing search of solutions to the COVID-19 problem. Despite their lack of scientific basis, nature/herbal-based therapeutic propositions to the COVID-19 have been seen and widely publicized in Madagascar, Cameroon and in Gabon just to name a few sub-Saharan African countries. With an established network of active traditional practitioners on the one hand and the scientific community of Niger on the other hand doing research on Nigerien medical plants, this project offers an opportunity for these actors to work collaboratively in the search of nature-based and scientifically-proven therapeutic answers to COVID-19 in the context of Niger.
3. Security Risk: According to the orld Bank Report, regional insecurity has severely impacted the local economy and led to significant displacement of the local population, creating urgent humanitarian needs and straining local resources. The Tillaberi region has borne the brunt of recent attacks. It is located in the Liptako-Gourma area, a stretch of land covering Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, which is considered by some to be the epicenter of the conflict in the Sahel region and is rated Level 5/Red/High by the United Nations (UN). In March 2017, after increasing militant attacks on civilian, government and military targets as well as violent incursions into villages, cattle thefts and kidnappings, the GoN declared a state of emergency that remains in effect. Since then, the situation continues to be volatile and unstable.
4. According to World Bank Corporate Security, security threats continue to rise along the Mali-Niger border as armed groups based in Mali pursue efforts to destabilize the area by weakening Niger?s security defence forces and eliminating traditional local authorities in this area. As of late May 2019, the Tillaberi border region was hosting more than 55,000 internally displaced people (IDPs), as well as over 60,000 Malian refugees and asylum seekers and more recently arrived Burkinabe refugees. These numbers and needs are expected to continue to increase as the border regions face on-going attacks by the Islamic State of the Greater Sahara (ISGS), while humanitarian workers are being urged to reduce missions/travel throughout these border areas and hundreds of schools near Ayorou and Abala close to the border with Mali have been closed for more than two years. Reported fatalities from direct attacks on civilians, including those using improvised explosive devices (IEDs), have significantly increased over the past year in the border regions. The national and international military operations in these regions have steadily increased their presence in response to these events, resulting in a heavily militarized zone in and around the Project area. This serious security and humanitarian crisis thrives on and reinforces pre-existing institutional vulnerabilities and inter-communal tensions.
Risks Level Mitigation measures
Weak and poor Medium Coordination and consultation mechanisms will be established to ensure coordination ownership of the process and engagement by all stakeholders with ongoing conservation, SLM and adaptation processes Technical risk: Medium Broad level consultations will be undertaken involving the appropriate Ecotourism Ministry and other quasi-government institutions to identify viable business operators as the entities to work in the Dallol Bosso and surrounding areas private sector not found
Environmental Medium Improving agricultural production will include the promotion of landraces risks: Climate and other crop varieties such as short maturity varieties and crops that have a Change affects high survivability in the Sahelian eco-region. Agricultural practices such as agricultural agroforestry systems that enable beneficiaries to become more productive production, and diversified economically, leading to more resilient livelihoods, will be particularly promoted. with the recurrent droughts in the country For this project, it is acknowledged here that Climate Change such as (situation extreme weather events could negatively affect socioeconomic activities to analysis at the expand livelihood opportunities that enable local communities to contribute bottom of this to biodiversity conservation and reduce their reliance on the exploitation of table). land in ways that lead to land degradation. To mitigate this risk, the project will support activities based on a combination of the following criteria: i) supporting socioeconomic activities that are less likely to be impacted by climate variability; ii) adopt the activity execution approach that minimizes exposure and vulnerability to climate variability; and iii) reinforcing existing socioeconomic activities that are already adaptable to the Sahelian environment and have potential for scaling up.
Additionally, it should be noted that though the project will support activities that can potentially be disrupted by weather events, other areas of project interventions such as capacity building, training sessions, strengthening of legal institutions and development of communication tools are less likely to be significantly affected by weather events.
Political risks: Medium Broad stakeholder engagement and aligning the project to broader Changes in government development goals embedded in government institutions will political support the management of any changes in political circumstances. circumstances and government priorities
Social risks: Medium Through sensitization programs, community members will be consulted and Communities engaged so that they appreciate the benefits of conservation and socio- turn down the economic benefits that will accrue to the Giraffe Zone. Communities will project and also be actively involved in joint community conservation initiatives. refuse to be engaged Lack of Low Capacity building is part of this project design, and therefore, capacity needs technical and will be identified to ensure that the required policy and institutional institutional capacities are in place capacities to improve the management of natural resources in the Giraffe Zone
Since land in Medium Based on lessons from other projects such as the GEF-WB Programme the Dosso d?Actions Communaitaires in Lido, this project will seek to raise awareness region is and sensitize communities, and use a participatory approach to involve them communal, a in decision making regarding prioritization of activities, their typical case of a implementation and build consensus on the use of land common pool resource, communities do not cooperate and go on with the business-as- usual scenario
COVID-19 Medium The death rate related to COVID-19 is estimated at 5.01% in Niger, which pandemic has recorded slightly less than 4,000 cases as of December 2020 since the continues first case was recorded in March 2019. Like anywhere in the world, the end during to the pandemic is neither in sight nor predictable. In this case, the potential implementation to lose co-financing cannot be downplayed as more resources might be channeled towards responding to the COVID-19 which has been taken more of a health and humanitarian crisis in terms of urgency in response than an environmental problem. Should the pandemic continue in Niger and trigger a lockdown or restrict movements and physical meetings, the implementation of activities that require physical presence on the ground, and interactions with community members will be suspended. However, depending on the level of prevalence, the project will adopt land restoration protocol used in the project to ?Support for Sustainable Management of Natural Resources at the Periphery of W Park and the Giraffe Area in Niger.?
Additionally, should the covid-19 situation trigger strict lock-down during project implementation, the project will:
- focus on the desk-based work of developing training packages at start- up in preparation for training events;
- if necessary, and if travel remains restricted longer than expected, the project will develop materials for and conduct some meetings and training virtually; and
Undertake desk research and conference interviews where needed and appropriate. Private Medium Addition to capacity building of personnel and institutions, the Integrated investors, Landscape Management Plan and communal development plans which will enterprises and integrate LDN and Biodiversity conservation will ensure that LDN and BD business plans priorities are accounted for in development plans in the region. Further, the for unforeseen rehabilitation of degraded tiger bushes/bushland landscape and of reasons do not bourgoitieres will contribute to land restoration and BD conservation. attract investments to restore land and conserve BD
Niger?s vulnerability to climate change 5. With a land mass of 1,267,000km2, Niger?s temperature rises to a maximum from March to June (41oC) and drops to between 16oC and -2o in winter. In the northern interior there are extreme temperature fluctuations (e.g 46oC to -2oC in Air Mountains. Rainfall decreases towards north and east, with no rain assured north of Agadez where the annual average is 125mm.
6. Niger?s climate is largely hot and dry with the northern half being classified as a desert and most of the southern parts having a semi-arid climate. Rainfall generally occurs during boreal summer with little rainfall occurring during the long dry winter season. The daily mean temperatures are generally higher over the southern parts and show less seasonal variability than the northern parts, this is because the northern parts experience more extreme differences between daytime vs. night time temperatures and summer vs. winter temperature. The river catchment or water region of Niger extends to the south-west to include the Niger River headwaters. This region is more tropical with higher rainfall which occurs over a longer summer season. Temperatures are also slightly warmer and peak at the beginning and to a lesser degree at the end of the rainy season. Niger and its water region can be divided into three climatic regions based on annual total rainfall as well as variations in the seasonal cycle of rainfall. These zones are illustrated in the Figures below.
Magnitude of rainfall variability in Niger (mean annual rainfall mm/yr between 1979 and 2013 (left) and coefficient of variation of rainfall during the same period (right).
Source:
Projected changes in precipitation from present to 2100 7. Future projections of annual total rainfall for the Arid North and Semi-arid South display a common message of potential increased rainfall emerging from as early as the 2020s in some regions. No consistent message is evident over the Niger River Headwaters Region. The frequency of rainfall events is projected to remain constant or increase over the two more arid regions and to possibly decrease over the Niger River Headwaters. All three regions project a possible increase in the frequency of extreme rainfall events into the future. It must be noted that these results are derived from GCM projections which may not accurately represent changes in extreme rainfall dynamics. Other studies have suggested that increased convective rainfall intensity (e.g. thunderstorm-related rainfall) should generally be expected in a warmer climate.
8. Projected changes in temperature are similar across all regions with temperatures projected to be 2?C to 3?C warmer in most regions by the 2050s, however the spread of values is wider for the Niger River Headwaters Region. By 2100 the range of projected temperatures is greater the regions showing projected increases of 2?C to 4?C by 2100 and the inland regions showing increases of 3?C to 6?C by 2100. This is detailed in the table below:
Region Average Total Annual Rainfall Number Of Heavy Rainy Days Temperature [Mm/Year] Rainfall [Days/Year] [Days/Year] [?C] Arid North Increasing Normal to increasing, Normal to increasing, Normal to increasing, +2?C to generally ranging generally ranging from ranging from no +2.5?C by from no change to an no change to an change to a decrease of 2050s but increase of up to increase of up to 50% up to 30% by 2050. No changes 100% by 2050 and by 2100, but some consistent signal in evident in even stronger by the strong outlier models projections after 2060 next decades end of the century project even higher. Semi-arid Increasing Normal to increasing, Normal to increasing, Normal to increasing, South +2?C to generally ranging generally ranging from ranging from no +2.5?C by from no change to an no change to an change to a decrease of 2050s but increase of up to 50% increase of up to 50% up to 50% by 2100 changes by 2050 and even by 2100, but some evident in stronger by the end of outlier models project next decades the century even higher Niger River Increasing No consistent signal Normal to increasing, Normal to decreasing, Headwaters +1?C to in projections generally ranging from generally ranging from +4?C by no change to increasing no change to 2050s but by up to 50% by 2100. decreasing by up to changes Some outlier models 25% by 2100. Some evident in project strong outlier models project next decades decreases. moderate increasing.
9. Expected climate vulnerabilities: In warm and arid Niger, where the Sahara Desert covers a large proportion of the land area, increasing temperature trends are likely to increase the pressure on water resources despite indications that rainfall trends may be normal to increasing into the future. Increasing temperatures and more extreme rainfall is of further concern for both the economy and for food security, given the dominating role of agriculture, a highly climate sensitive sector which engages around half of Niger?s work force. While Niger has a relatively small urban population, over two thirds of the urban population lives in slums, with lack of proper access to critical services such as health care, water supply and proper housing, deeming them vulnerable to extreme temperatures and rainfall events, as well as the slower knock-on effects that climate change may have on the economy. With inequality levels the highest in Africa, people?s capacity to adapt to increasing temperatures and more extreme rainfall varies widely.
[1] https://www.unenvironment.org/covid-19-updates
[2] https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/statement/unep-statement-covid-19
[3] Malagasy Organic Covid-19 Capsule Cure | Africanews
[4] Cameroon archbishop says treating COVID-19 with plant-based remedy | Reuters
[5] Gabon : Un th?rapeute affirme avoir trouv? le rem?de contre le Covid-19 | Gabonreview.com | Actualit? du Gabon | [6] UNICEF Niger COVID-19 Situation Report No. 13 reporting period 19 October to 23 November 2020 https://reliefweb.int/report/niger/unicef-niger-covid-19-situation-report-no-13-reporting-period-19-october- 23-november
[7] COVID-19 Data Repository by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University https://github.com/CSSEGISandData/COVID-19
[8] World Bank Group (2020). Niger: they fight the coronavirus in their own way https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2020/10/02/niger-they-fight-the-coronavirus-in-their-own- way
[9] Cross-Border Biosphere Reserve Program and Integrated Management of the W-Arly-Pendjari Cross- Border Complex (RBT-WAP / GIC-WAP): Protocol for the Implementation of Land Recovery Activities on the Plateau de Koure in the Giraffe Area in the Context of Combating COVID_19
[10] IUCN (1993). Niger?s Environmental Synopsis. https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/Co-NE-Env-008.pdf
[11] African Development Bank, University of Cape Town and Cirrus Group (2018). https://www.afdb.org/en/documents/niger-national-climate-change-profile
[12] Ibd
6. Institutional Arrangement and Coordination
Describe the institutional arrangement for project implementation. Elaborate on the planned coordination with other relevant GEF-financed projects and other initiatives.
1. IFAD and UNEP as the Implementation Agencies will provide overall project oversight, to ensure that GEF policies and criteria are followed and that the project fully achieves its objectives and expected outcomes. IFAD is the Lead Implementing Agency of this project. As the Lead Agency, IFAD will have the overall role of meeting all reporting responsibility and requirements to the GEF. The Ministry of Environnent and Sustainable Development and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock will be the joint Executing government Agencies of the project, with technical support the Nigerien Ministry of Finance, the Agricultural Development Bank (BAGRI) and the World Resources Institute (WRI). In the joint arrangement to execute the project, the Water and Forest Department (Direction G?n?rales des Eaux and For?ts) of the Ministry of Environnent and Sustainable Development will be the lead government agency that will coordinate processes to ensure that the project is implemented in accordance with the (a) agreements to be signed with IFAD as the lead Implementing Agency of the project and UNEP as the Co-Impelementing Agency (b) agreed objectives, activities and budget and deliver the outputs and demonstrate its best efforts in achieving the project outcomes. Also, the Department will coordinate activities of technical support from the Ministry of Finance, the Agricultural Development Bank (BAGRI) and the World Resources Institute (WRI), including other key Government and other relevant partners. This coordination role will be used to address and rectify any issues raised by the two Implementing Agencies who will continue playing their roles as Implementing Agencies to ensure that the project is implemented to achieve its objectives in a timely fashion. Additionally, the Department has a critical role to play in ensuring that project resources are used in the best possible way that is consistent and reflects cost-effectiveness.
2. Thus, the co-project implementation will benefit from the comparative advantages of the GEF Implementing Agencies involved. It should be reiterated that the project will be one, implemented by two GEF Agencies with ?specializations? in environmental aspects of the project (UNEP) and agricultural development aspects for rural populations (IFAD). The first two components focus on environment and the last two focus on agriculture, thus UNEP and IFAD combining efforts for transformational impact. This is a GEF-IFAD UNEP project, with IFAD being the Lead Agency.
3. In light of the role of the joint Executing Agency as mentioned above, the project management structure will be structured in form of the Project Steering Committee which will be charged with overseeing the strategic monitoring of project activity implementation throughout the project life. The Project Steering Committee will be the project?s ?Board? that will be constituted by key stakeholders including government agencies, civil society organisations (including women groups, conservation groups such as Giraffe Conservation Foundation, Wild Africa Conservation), academia and agricultural producer group representatives. As a Committee, they will:
? Provide overall guidance and ensure coordination among interested parties; ? Provide monitoring of project implementation; ? Review and adopt the annual work plans and budgets prepared by the Project Coordinator and Chief Technical Advisor of the Project Management Unit (PMU), in conformity with the project objective and subject to the rules of GEF, IFAD and UNEP; ? Review the six-monthly progress reports to be prepared by PMU and institute any corrective measures where and when deemed required; ? Enhance synergy between the GEF project and other initiatives being implemented in the project area; ? In collaboration with the PMU, support annual field visits and technical backstopping missions by the Implementing Agencies (IFAD and UNEP); ? Provide advice on policy and strategic issues to be taken into account during project implementation; and ? Where required, validate progress reports prepared by the PMU to the Implementing Agecies (IFAD and UNEP).
Project Management Units (PMU) 4. To improve the efficiency in the implementation of project activities co-implemented by UNEP and IFAD, the project will have one PMU charged with the responsibilities and tasks that will ensure and maintain the coherence of the project. However, in respect of the different business models, including internal reporting requirements of IFAD and UNEP as co-Implementing Agencies, the project will have two separate Project Technical Coordinators and a Monitoring and Evaluation support staff at the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock to coordinate the execution of UNEP components (components 1 and 2) and IFAD components (components 3 and 4), respectively. The PMU will be headed by the National Project Manager anchored at the IFAD Country Office, IFAD being the Lead Implementing Agency. Also, IFAD already has existing institutional structures and personnel in the country to smoothen the overall coordination and sygergies with other active projects, while capitalizing on the on- going PRECIS project on which the IFAD components of this project have been built. Therefore, the PMU will be anchored at the IFAD Country Office ? taking advantage of the existing institutional arrangement of IFAD?s on-going in-country programming, principally PRECIS. Consistent with standard practice, the PMU will not anchor the GEF grant, but will serve as an institutional arrangement to oversee and facilitate the execution of project activities under all the four components, however with institutional and technical support from the two Project Technical Coordinators at the Ministry of Environment (for UNEP-implemented components 1 and 2) and at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (for IFAD-implemented components 3 and 4).
5. Having the PMU anchored at the IFAD Country Office also acknowledges that PRECIS is an important baseline project. Consistent with the explanation above, and taking advantage of the existing institutional set-up, the PROSAP COKEBIOS has its own budget for implementation and activity execution, including human resource requirements for successful implementation and execution of the project activities.
6. Thus, the PMU with the Project Technical Coordinators at both the Ministry of Environment (for UNEP components 1 and 2), and at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (for IFAD components 3 and 4) will be based in Niamey, Niger?s capital. The two Project Technical Coordinators will maintain an appreciable level of communication and exchange of information, and will jointly support certain activities, particularly those that are somewhat overlapping and or are building on each other. As noted above, the Project Technical Coordinators will be charged with the responsibility to support the PMU at component-level to manage the day to day execution of the project activity while catalyzing and mobilizing the political momentum for the project in their respective Ministries.
7. The PMU will play a strategic role to serve the interests of all stakeholders in terms of ensuring that the Implementing Agencies, the Project Steering Committee and other project partners are kept abreast of the implementation of the project. Also, the PMU will ensure free flow of information, including developing a communication strategy to reach out to policy makers, community members and other stakeholders. Therefore, it will be the communication hub of the project with national as well as international audiences regarding project activities, lessons learned and project achievements. Furthermore, the PMU will consolidate, prepare and submit to the Implementing Agencies technical and financial progress reports. Report preparation will be supported by the Project Technical Coordinators who will work closely with the Monitoring and Evaluation support staff at Ministerial-level. The Project Technical Coordinators will also closely work with IFAD and UNEP for technical support for the respective components of the Agencies. As the Lead Agency, IFAD will be receiving consolidated reports for submission to the GEF. This structure strikes a balance between cost-effectiveness but also project coherence given that the project will be co-implemented. To ensure adequate functioning of the PMU, the structure will consist of the following capacity needs:
? The National Project Manager (to be hired through a competitive process to ensure competent candidate is hired for the position); ? 2 Project Technical Coordinators (to be designated by the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock); ? Project Monitoring and Evaluation Expert; ? Communication Officer; and ? Financial and Administration Officer.
The Field Operation Teams in Dosso 8. To ensure effective implementation of activities on the ground, and stakeholder engagement with community-level institutions such as community-based organisations (CBOs) and other NGOs, including Wild Africa Conservation, the project will have two separate small teams of officers (Field Project Officer and Field Project Assistant ? one for UNEP components 1 and 2, and the other for IFAD components 3 and 4). Like the PMUs, the Field Operation Teams will maintain an appreciable level of communication and exchange of information, and will jointly support certain activities, particularly those that are somewhat overlapping and or are building on each other. The teams will support the use of resources for project activities on the ground; supporting the application of project principles in the achievement of project goals (such as ensuring the representativeness of women project activities and benefits; supporting information production tailored to respond to local needs and norms; etc. It will also assist the project in the identification of service providers and partners needed for the project implementation at project-site level (e.g the FUSA?A seed company; Alheri; the Tashi Ga Kanki Cooperative; Gani Ya Kori Ji Cooperative; and Haoua Zaley Federation). In this regard, the Field Operations Team in Dosso will also ensure that partnerships at local levels are weaved and support the smooth implementation of the project towards its objectives.
9. The graph below summarises the proposed institutional structure of the project. The successful implementation of the structure will hinge on flow of information between different levels, as well as the observance of the principle of subsidiarity in the implementation of the project activities and undertaking of different project processes. 10. 11. 12. Figure showing the project institutional arrangement
7. Consistency with National Priorities
Describe the consistency of the project with national strategies and plans or reports and assesments under relevant conventions from below: NAPAs, NAPs, ASGM NAPs, MIAs, NBSAPs, NCs, TNAs, NCSAs, NIPs, PRSPs, NPFE, BURs, INDCs, etc.
Sustainable Development Goals
1. Overall, the proposed project will contribute to the following Sustainable Development Goal aspirations:
? Goal 1 : End poverty in all its forms everywhere ? Goal 2 : End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture ? Goal 13 : Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impact ? Goal 15 : Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.
2. Since the establishment of national targets of the LDN agenda, this is the first project that explicitly refers to the national targets. It is therefore, fully embedded in the LDN national agenda as detailed in the national document that has been submitted to the UNCCD. On the biodiversity front, the project is fully aligned with the last National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan (NBSAP) report to the UNCBD. Additionally, the project contributes to the implementation of the National Forest Plan 2011-2020 through the protection of classified forests and reforestation. The aim of this plan is to 'achieve a forest cover rate of at least 15%, in order to meet the needs of the populations in wood-energy, while preserving the biodiversity by a sustainable protection of the zones at risk as well as the fauna habitats".
3. Furthermore, the project contributes to the implementation of the Strategic Investment Framework for Sustainable Land Management (CS-SLM 2015-2029) through agricultural sustainability actions that include agro-forestry, improvement of the agro-pastoral land productivity and the establishment of the oasis observatory. Another important national-level document within the framework of multilateral environmental agreement (MEA) that this project will contribute to is the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets. This contribution will be made through activities related to the restoration of 614,708 hectares of degraded production landscapes (13,620 ha of agricultural land; 10,216 ha of pastoral grasslands; 132,522 ha of degraded tiger bushes; and 458,350 ha of agroforestry parks). This will lead to positive ripple effects on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
4. The project is aligned with the following development plans (linked to the management of natural resources) as well as the country?s commitment to different multilateral environmental agreements:
? 7th Republic of November 25, 2010 on state and citizen legal obligation: Detailed in Articles 35, 36 and 37 of the supreme Law of the land, the State has the legal obligation to provide and guarantee the right of every Nigerien to a healthy environment and proper management of natural resources. The Articles further guide that safeguarding and improving the environment is everyone?s shared responsibility. Under these Articles, environmental pollution by disposal of waste is punishable by law.
? Law No. 98-56 of December 29, 1998 on environmental management: This law establishes the general legal framework and the fundamental principles of environmental management in Niger to ensure that natural resources are rationally and sustainably managed. The law specifies that the management is inspired by the principles of prevention, precaution, responsibility, participation, polluter pays and subsidiarity. It defines the government's environmental policy and the procedures for the participation of populations as well as the incentives linked to participatory processes. It provides for environmental management instruments and its protection covering various dimensions of environmental protection in Niger, including protection from pollution of natural resources and the fight against desertification and mitigating the effects of drought. This law also constitutes a basis for the development of biodiversity conservation policies, as well as the access to genetic resources and the sharing of benefits arising from their use.
? Law n ? 2001-032 of December 31, 2001 on territorial development policy: The law provides guidance regarding territorial development policy of Niger. The law provides a legal back-up to set the legal framework for all interventions by the State and other actors resulting in the structuring, occupation and use of the national territory and its resources. Specific to biodiversity, the law provides for the measures for conservation, and enhancement of natural resources, in particular through the implementation of a soil and water conservation policy ecosystems, taking the environmental dimension into account when formulating programs and projects.
? Law n ? 2004-040 of 08 June 2004 on the forestry regime in Niger: The law determines the regime for the management and development of forest resources. It indicates that the forest resources constitute natural resources and, as such, are an integral part of the heritage of the Nation and that everyone is bound to respect this national heritage and to contribute to its conservation and regeneration. The State is the ultimate authority in the preservation and conservation of forest resources in consultation with other stakeholders involved in the management, use and exploitation of forest resources. The law provides for national forestry policy as well as the regulation of land clearing, the fight against forest fires bush, logging for commercial and non-commercial purposes as well as customary use rights. It also provides for decentralized and private forest administration, planning, conservation and management of resources flowing from forests.
? Law No. 98-07 of April 29, 1998 on hunting and wildlife protection regime: The purpose of this law is to define the hunting regime and the protection of wildlife. It specifies the content of hunting, the different categories of permits, the right of use, the protection of wildlife, property and people. The law states that hunting is strictly prohibited in national parks, wildlife reserves and wilderness areas or sanctuaries that can be created on national territory for the needs of the wildlife protection and management. Other areas such as biosphere reserves, areas of hunting interest, ranches and game farms as defined by law can be created for conservation needs of ecosystems and species following a classification process adapted to realities of the areas concerned. It authorizes the exercise of the right of use or customary law while establishing the appropriate rules and regulations. The law also provides for the establishment of a wildlife management fund and gives the procedures for its management and the distribution of revenue from wildlife-related transactions. However, this law does not address the aspects of planning, protection and management of habitats.
? 2nd edition of Niger?s National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan (NBSAP), adopted in 2014: This is an important policy document that guides biodiversity conservation programming in Niger. The document is mapped to the Aichi Biodiversity Targets: i) conserve and sustainably exploit ecosystems, species and genetic resources; ii) reduce various forms of pollution; iii) improve and develop tools for managing protected areas; iv) take into account biodiversity in policies and strategies; v) address the effects of climate change. Eighty actions have been formulated, along with associated responsible actors, indicators, verification sources, and costs per year (including funding gaps), hypotheses and risks. Needs regarding capacity-building and access to technologies for implementing the new NBSAP have also been identified, as have activities required to increase levels of communication and public awareness. Based on the identified priorities in the document, the country intends to adopt a system for monitoring and evaluation based on the principles of Results-based Management (RBM).
? The United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) 2019-2021: The working assumption of the United Nations system in Niger under the prevailing UNDAF 2019-2021 is to support effective implementation of policies and programmes that are consistent with country?s Vision 2030 and 2035 as defined in the Plan for Social and Economic Development. In the current UNDAF, the United Nations system has posited itself to strategically support Niger with the vision to promote good governance, the achievement of food and nutrition security, human capital and the demographic dividend, structural transformation of society and the economy, within the framework of a strengthened partnership, effective and efficient coordination based on the principles of the United Nations Reform in order to act, united in action, for the benefit of the most women, young people and children to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, leaving no one behind. This project will therefore, contribute to the vision of the Niger-UNDAF 2019-2021 as it seeks to improve food systems through improved land management and biodiversity conservation in Dallol Bosso and surrounding areas.
? Action Plan of the 3N Initiative "Nigeriens Nourrissent the Nigeriens" (Nigerien feed Nigerien): This is a statement of the ESDP, focuses on four major strategic axes including those relating to environment management. The 3N Initiative is a strategy for food and nutrition security and sustainable agricultural development. It comprises strategic operational axes which include: (1) Increase and diversification of agro-sylvo-pastoral and fisheries production, through supporting small-scale farmers for increased use of agricultural inputs, equipment and other technological tools, and (2) Improving the resilience of vulnerable groups to climate change, food crises and natural disasters. These strategic axes linked to the sustainable management of the environment are based on the National Policy on Environment and Sustainable Development (PNEDD-2016), adopted by Decree No. 2016-522/ PRN/ME/DD of 28 September 2016.
? National Forest Plan 2011-2020: The National Forestry Plan (NFP) is adopted by the government in 2014. Its objective is "to achieve a forest cover rate of at least 15%, in order to meet the needs of populations for wood-energy, while conserving biodiversity through sustainable protection of risky areas and wildlife habitats ". More specifically, it aims at promoting: the planning and management of natural forests; planting of tree species that are useful for increasing forest cover and resilience to climate change; development of agro-forestry and management of community forest; extension of energy saving. The ambition of the NFP is to contribute to securing more than 2,000,000 hectares by 2020.
? Strategic Investment Framework for Sustainable Land Management (SI-SLM 2015-2029): The SF- SLM is adopted by the government on 17th November, 2014. Its specific objectives are (i) establishment of a framework for financial resources mobilization in favor of SLM in Niger; (ii) ensuring the sustainability of the productive base of agriculture with a focus on sustainable ecosystem management; (iii) increasing forest production; (iv) capacity building for actors; (v) development of SLM monitoring and evaluation system and database of; (vi) dissemination of relevant information for SLM promotion.
? Nationally Determined Contribution ? NDC: This was been adopted by the government in September 2015, with the following objectives: (i) ensuring food security to fight against poverty and (ii) contributing in the reduction of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The best sustainable land management practices (SLM) selected include: land restoration and assisted natural regeneration (ANR); forest management; sand dune fixation and grazing land seeding operations, planting of multipurpose tree species; etc.
? National Environmental Policy: Adopted in 2006, the National Environment and Sustainable Development Policy (PNEDD) has as overall objective "to provide general conditions for suitable economic, social and cultural development, through the preservation and sustainable management of the environment and natural resources and strengthening mitigation and adaptation measures to the negative effects of climate change, so as to ensure long-term food security for citizens and improve their living environment. It consists of 4 strategic supporting pillars focused on Environmental Governance, Sustainable land and water management, Sustainable Environmental Management, and Sustainable biodiversity management.
? Other national priorities that this proposed project speaks to include: Sustainable development and Inclusive growth strategy; Economic and social development Plan; Food and nutrition security Strategy for sustainable agricultural development (3N Initiative); National Policy on environment and Sustainable Development adopted by the Government; Niger National Determined Contributions; National environment Plan for sustainable development; National Land Use Policy; Strategic Climate Resilience program; Strategy of small irrigation in Niger; and National action Plan for integrated water resources management.
? Niger LDN Voluntary Targets: Niger is committed to achieving Land Degradation Neutrality by 2030 and reducing the area of ??degraded land by 9% to 5% in order to increase the plant cover from 17% to 19% and to improve in a sustainable manner life of the people. Specifically, the necessary actions will be implemented to: o Restore 44% (4,440,500 ha) of the 10,761,076 ha of degraded land in 2010; o Reduce to 2% (252,101 ha) the area of ??cultivated land with a negative trend in net primary productivity; o Reduce the annual conversion rate from forests / savannah / wetlands to other types of land use from 1% (100 074.3 ha) to 0%; o Put an end to silting and water erosion (gully) along the Niger River; o Sequester 292,000 ton of carbon in the soil and / or biomass through good agroforestry practices (windbreak, hedge, RNA, fodder bank, food bank etc.)[1]
? Land governance policy framework in Niger: In 2013, the Permanent Secretariat of the Rural Code conducted a study on the results of 20 years of implementation of the Rural Code. This assessment study was followed by the organization of the General Councils of Rural Land in 2018. One of the strong recommendations resulting from these processes is the development of a Rural Land Policy for Niger. Thus, since 2019, a preliminary draft of this policy has been prepared and is currently in the process of adoption by the Government.
? The aim of the land policy is "to make rural land a powerful lever for the country's economic and social development through modernized and integrated land governance, responsible and efficient, which ensures sustainable land management, equitable access and non-conflictual land and renewable rural natural resources, thus securing legitimate land rights in their diversity and in particular those of vulnerable rural operators.?
? One of the specific objectives of this policy is to ensure the sustainability and equitable use of land resources through improved governance. Its implementation will be based on several strategic axes, including: o Build the capacities of commune land organizations and other actors; o Strengthen and develop the land tenure security offer, especially collective; o Promote access to land and land security for women, young people and people with disabilities; o Improve the management of specific land resources, developed and restored; and o Improve the management of land conflicts.
5. Thus, the adoption of this policy will strengthen the framework for the management of natural resources in Niger, which constitutes an opportunity for the implementation of the PROSAP COKEBIOS project.
Regional-level policy and regulatory frameworks for the management of natural resources
6. In Niger the Ordinance 93-015 of March 2, 1993 on the Orientation Principles of the Rural Code (OPRC) gives the overall guidance on land by spelling out the legal framework its use for agricultural, forestry and pastoral production to inform to regional planning, environmental protection and human development (Article 1). The Ordinance attaches great importance to rural natural resources, and considers the resources as an integral part of the national common heritage. Its scope covers land, plant, animal and hydrological resources (article 2). 7. The rural code is conceived around four axes, namely: o Securing rural operators; o Conservation and management of natural resources; o The organization of the rural areas; and o Territory planning.
8. The implementation of the OPRC is carried out through two mechanisms, namely: (i) a legal mechanism made up of a set of legislative and regulatory texts governing the management of natural resources, (ii) an institutional mechanism represented by the structures responsible for the implementation with the participation of rural actors. These structures are as follows: o The National (interministerial) Committee of the Rural Code, chaired by the Minister in charge of Agriculture and whose role is to define the main orientations in terms of development, implementation and monitoring of the application of texts; o The Permanent Secretary of the National Committee of the Rural Code who plays the role of an Executive Secretary for the National Committee; o The Regional Permanent Secretary appointed from among the regional executives; o Land Department Commissions (LDC) whose essential role is land development through the control / regulation of the development of natural resources at the department level. The LDC are chaired by the Prefects and bring together all the services related to land and natural resources (Plan, Cadastre and Estate, Agriculture, Livestock, Environment, Rural Engineering, etc.); and o The Communal Land Commissions (COLAC) and Village Land Commissions (VILAC), which mandate relates more to land management.
9. In addition to these land management structures at different levels, the OPRC has instituted tools for spatial planning and regulation of access to and rational use of natural resources are instituted, such as the Land Development Scheme (LDS). In a more sectoral manner, several legal texts are adopted and derive their essence and general orientations from Ordinance 93-015 of March 2, 1993 on the Guiding Principles of the Rural Code. Among these legal texts, it is worth highlighting Law 2004-040 of June 8, 2004 on the forestry regime in Niger which defines the national political orientations in forestry around four (4) principles which are: (i) The satisfaction of needs energy efficiency of populations and improvement of the living environment; (ii) valuing the various uses and functions of forests and trees within the framework of economic development and on the basis of rational land use policies; (iii) regeneration of forests by appropriate methods; (iv) conservation of biological diversity through long-term environmentally sound forest management. Two decrees implementing this law were adopted by the government, namely: o Decree No. 2018-191 / PRN / MEDD of March 16, 2018 determining the terms of application of Law 2004-040 of June 8, 2004 on the forestry regime in Niger. The adoption of this regulatory text was an important step in solving the problems related to the management of restored degraded lands. Indeed, through its Articles 57 and 58, it strengthens the conditions of sustainability in terms of land restoration and management operations, specifying in particular that: (i) any land for silvopastoral purposes that has benefited from an operation of restoration must be the subject of a management plan which determines the terms of access and use of goods and services produced by the ecosystem thus regenerated; (ii) no land can make a change of vocation and status after its restoration, except in case of necessity (moreover this change can only be authorized by a decree of the Governor for areas less than 50 ha and by an order from the Minister in charge of forests for areas greater than 50 ha, with the obligation to carry out a preliminary environmental and social impact study for areas greater than 100 ha); and o Decree N ? 2020-602 / PRN / ME / SU / DD of July 30, 2020 regulating the practice of Assisted Natural Regeneration in Niger which defines, among other things, the principles and methods of management of trees from Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR) in the crop fields and measures to support and encourage producers to promote ANR.
10. It is worth noting that now in Niger, the development of management plans for restored sites is part of the portfolio of activities during any land restoration interventions ? in view to strengthenining and accelerating the country?s ability to implement LDN-related interventions. The provisions of the ANR decree reinforce the context for implementing actions aimed at LDN by creating the conditions for better access to products resulting from practice.
11. The Dosso Regional Development Plan 2016 ? 2020: In accordance with the rural development plan (RDP) of the Dosso region, development interventions in the region need to contribute to the vision to have ?a modern, prosperous, well-governed region, with its cultural diversity, which ensures the satisfaction of the needs of its citizens and solidarity in a peaceful environment with a dynamic, diversified, competitive, sustainable and harmoniously integrated economy,? taking advantage of its natural potential and opportunities for valorization. Overall, the RDP aims to improve the living conditions of the populations of the Dosso region through the enhancement of its socio-economic potential.
12. RDP?s strategic orientations and axes of development are: promotion and consolidation of good governance; sustainable growth and diversification of agrosilvopastoral and fisheries production; the promotion of a diversified and competitive economy through the modernization and strengthening of support sectors; improving the nutritional status of populations and their access to quality basic social services; and the establishment of conditions for the sustainability of regional development. These strategic orientations need to contribute to the following general objectives of the RDP for the Dosso region: create the conditions for efficient and effective management of local authorities; in the long term, ensure the food security of the population and stimulate the economy of the region; increase the income of the population by promoting the economic potential of the region; satisfy the needs of the population by improving basic social services and access to quality food; and sustain the achievements of the region and reduce poverty for balanced and sustainable development.
13. Communal Development Plans (CDP): Each of the Communes involved in the present project has developed its own CDP with the main objective of making positive change in the lives of populations through the management and valorization of natural resources, organization of the productive sectors, improvement of security, and promotion of basic socio-economic services. The vision and the strategic axes of the CDPs are consistent with the vision and the strategic axes of the Regional Development Plan of the region. The various strategic axes focused on (1) capacity building for communal actors and promotion of good governance; (2) Protection of the environment and sustainable management of natural resources; (3) improvement of the access to basic social services and living environment; (4) development of productive sectors, improvement of food security and reduction of social inequalities; (5) development of economic sectors (trade, transport, industry, crafts, communication, etc.); and (6) promotion of local culture and tourism.
[1] Government of Niger. (2018). Process of Defining Targets for Land Degradation Neutrality : LDN Target Definition Program Final Report https://knowledge.unccd.int/home/country-information/countries- having-set-voluntary-ldn-targets/niger
8. Knowledge Management
Elaborate the "Knowledge Management Approach" for the project, including a budget, key deliverables and a timeline, and explain how it will contribute to the project's overall impact.
1. Knowledge management will be important to the overall project implementation process. The knowledge management strategy will include documentation and capitalization of lessons learned and best practices. It will target the sharing of experiences and the definition of key elements of success that can be replicated and scaled up beyond the Giraffe Zone and surrounding areas. Best practices and lessons learned will be communicated through the 28-country African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100) of which Niger is a partner, including other regional initiatives such as the Great Green Wall knowledge exchange platforms. The GEF Knowledge Management (KM) strategy will guide the project?s KM approach. KM will be mainstreamed into the project?s design, with its M&E system and adaptive management to ensure a facilitated learning process that will allow the identification and remedying of risks. Thus, KM will allow the documentation and sharing of project successes and failures, building a platform for learning but also for opportunities for scaling up best practices.
2. Activities to share lessons among agricultural producers, local communities, political decisionmakers and civil society organizations will include development and dissemination of communications materials, organization of exchange visits, and participation in national, regional and international conferences on sustainable land management and biodiversity conservation in the Sahel, particularly the conservation of giraffes. Cross-learning and experience-sharing will follow the following approach: (i) Project Management Unit will ensure that project lessons are captured, compiled and systematized, as they are related to project Outputs, experiences from other projects and initiatives including the IFAD/GEF Food Security project; (ii) Project PMU will ensure that project knowledge is shared with, and used by relevant stakeholders, thus promoting its scaling up and out to future projects, improved practices and policies; and (iii) every effort will be made by the PMU and with support from IFAD and UNEP to share lessons with other regional initiatives such as the Great Green Wall Umbrella Project to be coordinated by IFAD and funded by the Green Climate Fund.
3. Knowledge transfer to farmers and other stakeholders will come as a result of proven experiences from other projects and initiatives and from the project?s outputs. These will build upon a multi-layered train-the-trainer structure that benefits local CSOs, landscape stakeholders, producer organizations and individual producers. While technical assistance through extension services facilitates change towards the adoption of SLM practices, the project will dedicate time and resources to strengthen CSOs on services delivery to local communities, and will engage with grassroot structures such as cooperatives. Strengthening CSO and other grassroot structures such as cooperatives or women groups in the Dallol Bosso and surrounding areas will provide continuity well beyond the lifetime of the project and allow CSOs and cooperatives to grow their impact within their field of expertise. Modules developed by the project will be handed over to CSOs and cooperatives to strengthen their knowledge and ability to sustain their interventions independently of and beyond the project, thereby increasing the potential for sustainability and replication.
4. It is here reiterated that this project is proposed in an area with ecotourism potential that has not yet been developed to make meaningful contribution to floral and faunal conservation, including associated genetic resources, while broadening the income base for communities in the Giraffe Zone. Lessons learned from the project will be shared within community members, amongst ecotourism operators, agricultural producers, biodiversity and land managers, political decision- makers and civil society organizations through organization of exchange visits, and participation to national, regional and international conferences on sustainable forest and land management. Knowledge resources developed by the project will be shared with CSOs to widen the reach of these activities; and also, they will be shared within different fora and policy makers support sensitization beyond the Giraffe Zone and immediate surrounding areas to enhance potential for replication more broadly in the Republic of Niger. Other methods of dissemination will include radio and TV programs and publications such as flyers.
5. Finally, the Dallol Bosso being the last bastion of giraffes but also as a landscape inhabited by communities, the implementation of the project in this landscape will generate lessons that will be worthy sharing. Therefore, the project will create a website that will be hosted by the Ministry of Environment and Fight Against Desertification to serve as a repository of project documents in which evidence, reports and communication materials will be stored. It will also be a one stop- shop for all the information related to the project implementation process.
9. Monitoring and Evaluation
Describe the budgeted M and E plan
1. The project will follow standard processes and procedures for monitoring, reporting and evaluation. The conditions and reporting templates are integral part of the related legal instruments that must be signed. The project monitoring and evaluation plan is in line with GEF monitoring and evaluation policy. The project outcome framework includes SMART indicators for each expected outcome as well as end-of-project objectives. These indicators in Annex A constitute the main basis for the assessment of the progress accomplished in project implementation and determination of whether the project results are achieved or not. The monitoring-evaluation costs are also presented in the costed monitoring - evaluation plan and are fully integrated into the overall project budget. The monitoring - evaluation plan will be reviewed and revised as necessary during the project's launching workshop to ensure that the stakeholders understand their roles and responsibilities in the processes of monitoring and evaluation.
2. The proposed indicators and their means of verification will be reviewed and validated at the launching workshop. The project management team will manage the day-to-day monitoring of the project, but other project partners will be assigned to collect specific information allowing indicators monitoring, including engaging consultants where deemed necessary. The Project Coordinator will inform the Implementing Agencies of any delays or difficulties encountered during implementation, so that appropriate support or corrective measures can be taken in a timely manner. The Project Steering Committee will periodically submit reports on progress achieved and make recommendations to Implementing Agencies on the need to revise any aspects of the outcomes in the framework or the monitoring - evaluation plan. Project supervisions to ensure the project?s compliance with IFAD and UNEP and GEF policies and procedures are assigned to the Task Managers of Implementing Agencies. The Task Managers will also review the quality of preliminary project results, provide feedback to project partners and establish peer review procedures to ensure adequate quality of the outputs and scientific and technical publications.
3. Given the nature of this project, that is, IFAD and UNEP as co-Implementing Agencies, M&E will primarily be conducted by UNEP and IFAD separately, for components 1 and 2, and components 3 and 4, respectively. UNEP Task Manager will ensure M&E, including supervision plan are prepared for activities under components 1 and 2. IFAD?s Task Manager for this project will do the same. However, IFAD will have the overall responsibility as the Lead Agency to consolidate the reports ensuing from M&E and supervision exercises. It should be noted that though UNEP will focus on components 1 and 2, and IFAD on components 3 and 4, the two Agencies will maintain a high level of coordination, sharing of information and coordinated supervision missions to ensure capture of lessons and their dissemination, consistence and coherence in the implementation of the project activities, and coordinated adaptive management, if necessarily. The same approach will be used to prepare the PIRs for the project. Thus, there will be room for implementing project activities in isolation from each other.
4. Project supervision will adopt an adaptive management approach. The Task Managers will develop a project supervision plan at the beginning of the project, which will be communicated to the project partners during the launching workshop. The Task Managers will focus on the monitoring of outcomes, without neglecting the financial management of the project and the implementation monitoring. Progress made in achieving the overall environmental advantages of the project will be assessed with the Steering Committee at agreed intervals. Risks and assumptions of the project will be regularly monitored by the project partners and IFAD and UNEP, as Implementing Agencies. Risk assessment and rating will be fully integrated in the project implementation review (PIR). The quality of project monitoring and evaluation will also be reviewed and rated in the framework of PIR. Key financial parameters will be monitored quarterly to ensure cost-effective use of financial resources. A mid-term review will be carried out at the end of the second year of the project, as indicated in the project stages. The review will include all the parameters recommended by GEF Evaluation Office for the final evaluations and verify the information collected through GEF monitoring tools, as appropriate. 5. The review will be conducted using a participatory approach this means that is will entail consulting the potential project beneficiaries or the parties affected by the project. These parties are identified during the review and mapping of stakeholders.
6. The project steering committee will be involved in the mid-term review and will prepare the management response to the recommendations of the evaluation as well as an implementation plan. Also, the Task Managers of Implementing Agencies will have the responsibility to monitor the implementation of agreed recommendations.
7. An independent final evaluation will take place at the end of the project implementation. UNEP Evaluation and Monitoring Unit will conduct the final evaluation process. A report on the quality of the evaluation report will be made by EOU and submitted with the report to GEF Evaluation Office no later than six months after the end of the evaluation. GEF monitoring tools will be updated at mid-term and at the end of the project. These will be transmitted to GEF Secretariat along with the project's PIR report. As mentioned above, the mid-term review and the final evaluation will check the information provided by the monitoring tool.
Table of the budgeted M&E plan
Type of Monitoring & Evaluation Responsible Budget US$ Frequency activity (Excluding project staff?s time) Project launching workshop Project 35,000 Within three Coordinator months after IFAD/UNEP/ project GEF initiation MESUDD Preparation of the launching Report Project Team 0 Immediately (initial report) IFAD/UNEP after launching MESUDD workshop Assessment of the means of verification The Project 60,000 Initial, mid- of the project objective indicators Coordinator term and end of the project Assessment of the means of verification Steering 40,000 Every year of project progress and outcome Committee before annual (assessed on an annual basis) Project progress report Coordinator Project teams Quarterly dashboard and periodic Project Team 20,000 According to implementation monitoring reports the periodicity of production
Annual progress reports and Project 20,000 Annually dissemination Coordinator IFAD/UNEP / GEF Steering committee and minutes of the MESUDD + 0 Every year, meetings relevant after reception Ministries of the annual IFAD/UNEP/GEF progress report Project Team CNEDD Technical reports Project team 20,000 Periodical Study consultants Mid-term evaluation of the project Project 70,000 Midway of the coordinator project IFAD/UNEP/GEF implementation External evaluator Final external evaluation of the project Project 95,000 At the end of coordinator the Phase IFAD/UNEP/GEF External evaluator Project closing report Project team 0 Available at MESUDD least one month IFAD/UNEP/GEF before the end of the Phase Various publications on project Project team 30,000 As needed and outcomes and experiences IFAD/UNEP/GEF according to opportunities Field visits IFAD/UNEP/GEF 50,000 Every year MESUDD Governorate (Dosso) Regional council Total Indicative Costs 450,000
10. Benefits
Describe the socioeconomic benefits to be delivered by the project at the national and local levels, as appropriate. How do these benefits translate in supporting the achievement of global environment benefits (GEF Trust Fund) or adaptation benefits (LDCF/SCCF)?
1. Around 100,000 households directly depend on the landscape resources and ecosystems of the Dallol Bosso for their livelihoods, jobs and incomes. The project target 150 000 people (of whom 50% will constitute women) as direct beneficiaries of project interventions. The project will directly affect the socio-economic lives of these 150 000 agricultural producers, pastoral communities, fishermen, micro-entrepreneurs in the transformation and marketing of agropastoral products, consumers of agricultural products, as well as those who use/harvest woody products (firewood). Planned interventions in eco-tourism will deliberately seek to consider the involvement of marginalized community members - women, young people, elderly and handicapped, as beneficiaries. With improved eco-tourism accompanied by required infrastructure and business undertakings such as providing accommodation to eco-tourists, establishment of restaurants and trainng programs in art and craft, the potential for job creation is unquestionably huge, indirectly impacting as many as about 5 000 households around the Giraffe Zone. In addition, these mentioned entrepreneurial activities are potential alternative income generating activities that will lead to reduced pressure on land through cutting down of the tiger bush for sale and land clearing for agricultural activities. The brunt of increased degradation which results in food insecurity, reduction of agricultural productivity and water, as well as the loss of biodiversity is borne by these marginalized members of the Giraffe Zone.
2. In addition to establishing and or improving value chains for rice, beef and NTFPs as well as enhancing capacities to reduce post-harvest losses, eco-labeling and improved access to market for these products will be an enormous opportunity for job creation among community members in the Giraffe Zone and surrounding areas. community reliance, exploitation and further degradation of natural resources due to created jobs, the engagement in agricultural production systems underpinned by agroforestry systems will increase yields, limit expansion of farming frontiers and increase the carbon sequestration capacity of the Giraffe Zone and avoidance of additional carbon emissions. The promotion of ecotourism in the Giraffe Zone will improve the local economy, but also inform the allocation of often meagre financial resources at national level to other development sectors and regions of the country. In this way, what happens in the Giraffee Zone will benefit national level economy. The increased influx of ecotourists is an additional and obvious benefit to the national level economy. Likewise, improved agricultural production will have positive socio-economic spill-overs to areas beyond the project catchment area for the benefit of the whole country.
3. Reduced post-harvest losses and improved eco-labeling will increase the producers? ability to fetch better prices. There is also huge rice markets from business entities from Benin and Nigeria buying at farm gate prices. However, with improved packaging and strengthened marketing platforms, producers are more likely not only to break even, but make more decent profits to lift themselves up from abject poverty, reduce rural-urban migration and incetivise the youth into agriculture which they see more and more less lucrative.
4. The success of ecotourism in the Giraffe Zone of Niger partly depends on transformational change in agricultural production systems, pastoral communities but also on the establishment of enforceable land use planning regulations and legal and institutional infrastructure. All these points of transformational change require the involvement of local communities, partnerships with other stakeholders including NGOs, private operators and the government of Niger itself. In light of the fore-going, the following are additional direct and indirect socio-economic benefits of the proposed project with spillover effects at national level:
Construction of infrastructure to enhance post-harvest handling: This will generally improve the physical infrastructure in the area, and create jobs in the construction as well as in the post-harvest handling, eco- labeling and improved access to markets. Job-creation is critical in Niger particularly given the wave of extremism and radicalisation among the youth linked to lack of employment; Promotion of ecotourism small businesses such as art and crafts to provide additional but also diversified income for local people. At least 1 500 will be trained in art and craft and other tourism-boosting activities such as food services and accommodation ? leading to provision of jobs that lessen the pressure exerted on resources. The involvement of the private sector will be an opportunity for jobs for local community members in the ecotourism operations; Besides diversifying and improving alternative income generating activities, training communities to respond to the demands of both local and international tourists is an opportunity for communities to have their capacities built and knowledge transferred. Therefore, this project will benefit communities through capacity development and knowledge transfer; The boost in eco-tourism will also improve the level of financial benefits that are attributed to communities as primary stakeholders in the management of giraffes in the giraffe zone and hippos in the surrounding areas. Currently, communities receive 50% of revenues from eco-tourism, while the state receives 20% and 30% is allocated to operations. However, the revenues are symbolic due to poorly developed tourism opportunities; Therefore, boosting eco-tourism, even with the current benefit sharing quotas, communities and the nation at large are more likely to benefit, in addition to jobs and conservation of giraffes, hippos and tiger bushes. A study by Leroy et al. (2009)[1] in the Dallol Bosso region shows that currently, most tourists come mainly from Niamey, and that improved accrual of eco-tourism benefits to communities that are more equitably distributed can spur local people?s positive perception of giraffes and their active participation in the conservation efforts;
Preserved biodiversity at the farm level through production systems involving agroforestry systems, intercropping, and preservation of locally adapted seed landraces. Through this project about 1 500 households will adopt the use of biodiversity-friendly agricultural production systems, limiting the expansion of cropland by about 269,975 ha in Giraffe Zone. In addition, the proposed agricultural production systems have potential to improve nutrient cycling in the soil, increased primary production, and carbon sequestration in cropland areas; Improved production systems will lead to alleviate threats of food insecurity, but also human-animal conflicts that are usually due to loss of habitat for wildlife as humans expand frontiers of cropland and grazing land for the domesticated animals; Conservation of cultural and natural landscapes and protection of cultural heritage. This benefit of this project points to the cultural value that this project will make not only to Dallol Bosso and surrounding areas, but also to the national level as a whole. Therefore, the project will make both economic and cultural contribution to the Republic of Niger; and The project will employ a participatory approach that will create opportunities for joint community biodiversity, land and water management activities, including sensitisation programs that will facilitate knowledge transfer. This will empower communities in the Giraffe Zone and surrounding areas with knowledge for improved management of resources and improved livelihoods.
[1] Romain Leroy, Marie-Noe?l de Visscher, Oudou Halidou & Amadou Boureima (2009). The last African white giraffes live in farmers? fields. Biodivers Conserv. 18:2663?2677
11. Environmental and Social Safeguard (ESS) Risks Provide information on the identified environmental and social risks and potential impacts associated with the project/program based on your organization's ESS systems and procedures
Overall Project/Program Risk Classification*
CEO Endorsement/Approva PIF l MTR TE
Low Measures to address identified risks and impacts Elaborate on the types and risk classifications/ratings of any identified environmental and social risks and impacts (considering the GEF ESS Minimum Standards) and any measures undertaken as well as planned management measures to address these risks during implementation.
Based on the proposed activities for this project, and in conformity with Environmental and social categorization and criteria, this project falls under Low risk classification.
Broadly, identified risks associated with this project are of political, social, environmental, institutional and technical nature. The emergence of COVID-19 has also added a layer of risks that cannot be ignored. The assessment of the risks rates them to be low to medium, and management strategies have been proposed that are tailored to each of the risks ? to ensure the successful implementation of the project. The project is designed to generate global environmental benefits through biodiversity conservation and rehabilitation of degraded agricultural production landscape. Also, the project will build and improve livelihoods of communities that survive on the exploitation of land resources. Therefore, the project approach is underpinned by activities that will avoid environmental degradation. For example, land rehabilitation will not entail the introduction of alien species so as not to disrupt the ecological integrity of the flora in the Dallol Bosso. Instead, landraces will be supported, and varieties/species that are more likely to survive the climatic conditions and edaphic characteristics of the project catchment area.
With regards to COVID-19, the project Management team will remain compliant to the local regulation to ensure safety of staff. As the pandemic evolves in the country, adaptive management in consultation with the implementing agencies and relevant stakeholders will guide the appropriate approach to keep the project to achieve its development objective. As noted, this might involve teleworking, as may be appropriate.
The project?s approach to social, institutional and political risks is embedded in social engineering whereby relevant stakeholders will be part and parcel of decision-making processes of the project through consultations (with competent administrative authorities, communities, umbrella organizations, market players at appropriate administrative tiers in the country and in the project area), awareness raising and capacity development. For example, capacity will be built targeting producer groups of women and the youth through livelihood and market access improvements, access to small irrigation systems and storage facilities, and handling of disease outbreaks using environment-friendly approaches such as integrated pest management. This will ensure overall positive socioeconomic dividends for this category of beneficiaries. Additionally, the project activities will not result in physical displacement of local communities nor negative disruption of their existing income streams. Instead, it will seek to improve their livelihoods with their full participation.
Supporting Documents Upload available ESS supporting documents.
Title Module Submitted
10420_Niger_Cadre de Gestion CEO Endorsement ESS Environnementale et Sociale CGES_Aug_2020 ANNEX A: PROJECT RESULTS FRAMEWORK (either copy and paste here the framework from the Agency document, or provide reference to the page in the project document where the framework could be found).
Project title : Promoting Sustainable Agricultural Production and Conservation of Key Biodiversity Species through Land Restoration and Efficient Use of Ecosystems in the Dallol Bosso and Surrounding Areas (PROSAP/COKEBIOS) Mid term End of project Verificatio Risks and Indicator Baseline target target n sources assumptions Project Total area under improved management (914,631 Hectares) -Residual objective 0 ha 457,315.5 ha 914,631 ha insecurity PA creation 0ha 27,650 ha 55,300 ha Project doesn?t spill To and progress over to the strengthen development reports, project area national, plan and regional and implementation Evaluation -COVID-19 municipal Management 48% 54% (METT) 60% (METT) report, and won?t halt the capacity and plans (Hippo field project actions to Sanctuary) 0 ha 500 ha 1,000 ha supervisio activities implement Giraffes habit n mission an 0 ha 27,650 ha 55,300 ha -Key conservation reports integrated stakeholders Tiger bush ecosystem 0 ha 93,911.5 ha 187,823 ha maintain their managemen restoration interest and Land under t approach 0 ha 250 ha 500 ha engagement in in the Dallol SLM practices the project, Bosso Restoration of including local landscape in agricultural 0 ha 6,810 ha 13,620 ha communities Niger land Restoration of -Cofinancing pastoral 0 ha 5,108 ha 10,216 ha secured as grasslands planned Restoration of degraded tiger 0 ha 66,261 ha 132,522 ha bushes Restoration of agroforestry 0 ha 229,175 ha 458,350 ha parks Component 1: Enhanced National Capacity for LDN implementation Project title : Promoting Sustainable Agricultural Production and Conservation of Key Biodiversity Species through Land Restoration and Efficient Use of Ecosystems in the Dallol Bosso and Surrounding Areas (PROSAP/COKEBIOS) Mid term End of project Verificatio Risks and Indicator Baseline target target n sources assumptions Outcome Number of Non-existence 4 stakeholder 4 stakeholder Lists f -The 1.1. stakeholder of stakeholder gender- gender- participant implementatio Government gender- gender- responsive responsive s and n of SLM and of Niger responsive responsive training training Project LDN and adopt and training training sessions and sessions and progress biodiversity implement sessions and sessions and tools tools report conservation new tools for tools for LDN conducted for conducted for will garner integrated national national national support among landscape technical and technical and technical and key managemen policy LDN policy LDN policy LDN stakeholders t approaches coherence leading to to integrate capacity LDN and development, BD LDN policy conservatio alignment, PA n into creation and developmen Data and 0 monitoring 2 Stakeholder 1 national and Project accompanying t planning monitoring system hub for consultation 1 regional progress management system hubs set LDN meetings (Dosso)-level report and plans up to showcase implementatio conducted, data and Evaluation successful n and monitoring report -The security LDN consultants systems hubs threats don?t implementation engaged set up and hamper the government- creation and approved to management showcase of the created LDN PA as well as implementatio effective n management Number of 0 institutional 2 Land tenure 1 national and Project of the Hippo strengthened and legal stakeholder 1 regional progress Sanctuary and frameworks to consultation (Dosso) -level report and government- secure land meetings institutional Evaluation -Mutual approved rights within conducted and legal report agreements institutional the LDN involving key frameworks are reached and legal context actors, and that regarding frameworks to consultants strengthens issues around secure land engaged land tenure for land tenure tenure rights to LDN within the enhance LDN implementatio context of implementation n approved by implementing the LDN-related government activities Project title : Promoting Sustainable Agricultural Production and Conservation of Key Biodiversity Species through Land Restoration and Efficient Use of Ecosystems in the Dallol Bosso and Surrounding Areas (PROSAP/COKEBIOS) Mid term End of project Verificatio Risks and Indicator Baseline target target n sources assumptions Setting up of There is no Stakeholder The ILPM Project an Integrated ILMP for the consultation approved by progress Landscape Dallol Bosso meetings the report, Management landscape conducted, government of ILPM Plan, approved and Niger relevant report and and consultants authorities evaluation implemented engaged report for the Dallol Bosso landscape Output 1.1. Training, Tools and Technical assistance provided with due gender equity consideration to national line ministries to improve the technical capacities and policy coherence/alignment of LDN with national development planning using integrated approach Output 1.2. Data and monitoring system hub regarding SLM/LDN indicators and sub-indicators developed to showcase successful LDN implementation Output 1.3. Capacities of key institutions build to support LDN/SLM monitoring, restoration and maintenance of functional landscapes taking into consideration the STAP/SPI guidelines on LDN framework Output 1.4. Institutional and legal frameworks strengthened to secure land tenure rights which enhance LDN implementation Output 1.5. Integrated Landscape Management Plan and relevant regulations and rules around LDN developed for the Dallol Bosso landscape to showcase integrating LDN and BD conservation into development planning Component 2: Improved biodiversity conservation and land restoration actions in the Dallol Bosso landscape Outcome A Giraffe 0 Stakeholder 1 Giraffe Project -The 2.1 Funding Protected Area consultation Protected Area progress momentum and created meetings, created and report and and political technical surveys and operational Evaluation will to assistance planning report improve provided to conducted for biodiversity demonstrate the creation of conservation land the PA. and land restoration, 2 Integrated No IMP for Stakeholder 2 full-fledged Project restoration in wildlife Management Giraffe PA consultation government- progress the Dallol conservatio Plans (IMPs) and Hippo meetings and approved report, Bosso are n and (Giraffe PA Sanctuary workshops IMPs (1 for IMPs and maintained or biodiversity and Hippo exists conducted + the PA, and 1 evaluation even measures to Sanctuary) first drafts of for the Hippo report increased. improvethat made and IMPs Sanctuary) also government- -Local contribute approved and community to local implemented members are livelihoods Participation of Non-inclusion At least 20% At least 40% List of fully in Dallol women in the of women at of participants of participants participant sensitized, Bosso development of local level in in in s and give social Integrated the intercommuna intercommuna Project license and Management development l planning are l planning are progress become Plans of women women report catalysts of development biodiversity plans conservation Project title : Promoting Sustainable Agricultural Production and Conservation of Key Biodiversity Species through Land Restoration and Efficient Use of Ecosystems in the Dallol Bosso and Surrounding Areas (PROSAP/COKEBIOS) Mid term End of project Verificatio Risks and Indicator Baseline target target n sources assumptions % of Existing CDPs Intercommuna 100% of Project and land communes are not clear l planning and communes progress restoration in within Dallol on the stakeholder have their report and the project Outcome Bosso with integration of consultation CDPs which Evaluation catchment 2.2 The established LDN and meetings integrate LDN report area provided institutional Biodiversity and BD technical and technical conservation assistance capacity, in the project provided to enabling area enables land policies (e.g. and Commune wildlife Development conservatio Plans (CDPs) n income which integrate generating LDN and activities Biodiversity conservation in the project area Number of ha 0 ha 17,493.75 of 17,493.75 of Project of degraded degraded tiger degraded tiger progress tiger bushes, and 5 bushes, and 5 report and bushes/bushlan blocks of blocks of Evaluation d landscape bourgoitieres bourgoitieres report restored restored restored Number of None 2 2 Project communication communicatio communicatio progress toolkits and n tools and 2 n tools and 2 report and radio programs radio/TV radio/TV Evaluation developed for programs on programs on report SLM and BD SLM and BD SLM and BD info dissemination to stakeholders Number of None 150,000 150,000 Project beneficiaries of beneficiaries beneficiaries progress AIGAs for report and SLM and BD Evaluation in the project report catchment area Number of No SLM and 3 consultation 1 full-fledged Project SLM and BD- BD business workshops business plan progress business plans plans to guide with key that combines report and for private investments in stakeholders SLM and BD Evaluation investors and SLM and BD investment report enterprises priorities Output 2.1. One Protected Area (for Giraffes) is created and two Integrated Management Plans (Giraffe PA and Hippo created Sanctuary) with due gender and indigenous people consideration are developed and implementation started Project title : Promoting Sustainable Agricultural Production and Conservation of Key Biodiversity Species through Land Restoration and Efficient Use of Ecosystems in the Dallol Bosso and Surrounding Areas (PROSAP/COKEBIOS) Mid term End of project Verificatio Risks and Indicator Baseline target target n sources assumptions Output 2.2. Institutional and technical capacity, enabling policies (e.g. communal development plans which integrate LDN and Biodiversity conservation) and infrastructure are established to manage the Giraffe Protected Area and the Kandadji Hippo Sanctuary Output 2.3. 614,708 ha of degraded production landscapes (agricultural land, tiger bushes/bushland landscape and 10 blocks of bourgoitieres , agroforestry parks and pastoral grasslands) are restored Output 2.4. Communication toolkits and radio programs developed to improve adoption of SLM and restoration interventions, shared and disseminated to stakeholders Output 2.5. Alternative Income Generating Activities contributing to land restoration identified and implemented with local communities to reduce threats to the giraffe Protected Area and the Kandadji Hippo Sanctuary Output 2.6. Private investors, enterprises and business plans for investments to restore land and conserve BD identified through scoping and shared with the identified private sector. Component 3: 3,000 smallholder producers of selected VCs become market literate (at least 50% of whom are female producers) contributing to reduced post harvest losses by aout 50% Outcome Number of None 1,500 1,500 List of Smallholder 3.1 3,000 small smallholders smallholders trainees, producers are smallholder producers trained trained Project willing to be producers of trained in progress trained, and selected market literacy report and COVID-19 VCs of selected Evaluation does not become value chains in report prevent market the project area physical literate (at meetings least 50% of Number of 0 hectares 250 hectares 250 hectares Project Communities whom are hectares under progress are willing to female improved report and use irrigation producers) smallholder Evaluation systems on contributing irrigation report their land to reduced systems post harvest Number of Only 2 storage 2 storage Field In consultation losses by pieces of household- facilities facilities visits, with about 50% infrastructure level, simple 2 solar energy 2 solar energy Project communities, developed (e.g and poorly systems systems progress land is secured storage performing report and for facilities with graneries exist Evaluation infrastructure phytosanitary report development control serving as trading points, solar energy systems) Project title : Promoting Sustainable Agricultural Production and Conservation of Key Biodiversity Species through Land Restoration and Efficient Use of Ecosystems in the Dallol Bosso and Surrounding Areas (PROSAP/COKEBIOS) Mid term End of project Verificatio Risks and Indicator Baseline target target n sources assumptions Number of Only some 300 farmers, 300 farmers, Project Smallholder people households 50% of them 50% of them progress producers are benefiting from have simple being women being women report and willing to developed and poorly Evaluation adopt infrastructure performing report improved (e.g storage graneries marketing facilities with systems, phytosanitary including the control serving use of storage as trading facilities points, solar energy systems) Number of No knowledge 2 knowledge 2 knowledge Project Policy makers knowledge products that products products progress and products for link report and communities policy makers conservation Evaluation continue and and report buying into communities livelihoods for the project policy makers objectives and communities Output 3.1.1. 3,000 participate in awareness-raising on market literacy of the selected Value Chains Output 3.1.2 Smallholder irrigation systems promoted and production is boosted on 500 ha to improve agricultural water management benefiting smallscale producers in Dallol Bosso and surrounding areas Output 3.3.3 Infrastructure established (e.g storage facilities with phytosanitary control serving as trading points, solar energy systems) for irrigation, processing and packaging to improve the marketability of selected CVs, benefiting 600 farmers, 50% of them being women. Output 3.1.4 Dissemination of knowledge products and lessons learned targeting decision makers and local communities Component 4: Creating an enabling capacity environment at local level to manage post-harvest losses Outcome Number of No 17,493.75 17,493.75 Project Communities 4.1. hactares under participatory hectares under hectares under progress are sensitized, Reducing participatory land use plans participatory participatory report and buy into and post-harvest land-use exist in the land-use land-use Evaluation participate in losses planning giraffe zone planning planning report land- use (PHL) by plans 50% among Number of No PHL 750 farming 750 farming List of Farming smallholder farming trainings have households households trainees, households producers households been undergo undergo Project willing to contributes trained in post- conducted for training in training in progress participate in to harvest loss communities PHL PHL report and training biodiversity (PHL) in and around Evaluation sessions and conservatio the giraffe report COVID-19 n within the zone does not Dollol prevent Bosso physical landscape meetings Project title : Promoting Sustainable Agricultural Production and Conservation of Key Biodiversity Species through Land Restoration and Efficient Use of Ecosystems in the Dallol Bosso and Surrounding Areas (PROSAP/COKEBIOS) Mid term End of project Verificatio Risks and Indicator Baseline target target n sources assumptions and Number of None 750 farming 750 farming List of Smallholder surrounding trained farming households households trainees, producers are areas households in adopt PHL adopt PHL Project willing to PHL adopting technologies technologies progress adopt technologies and practices and practices report and improved Outcome and practices Evaluation methods of 4.2 Risks to report post-harvest selected handling value chains Number of No trainings 300 300 List of Smallholder (VCs) ? smallholder have been smallholder smallholder trainees, producers are rice, beef, producers conducted for producers producers Project willing to onions and trained in communities trained in trained in progress participate in NTFP handling in and around handling handling report and training reduced common pest the giraffe common pest common pest Evaluation sessions and through and disease zone on and disease and disease report COVID-19 SLM outbreaks in handling of does not Dallol Bosso common pest prevent Outcome and disease physical 4.3 Project outbreaks meetings monitoring Number of data No data Initial draft of 1 operational Protocol Competent and collection collection a protocol protocol ready, and capacity evaluation protocol for protocol for ready for data developed for data identified to ensured M&E biodiversity collection data collection collected develop the conservation for M&E for M&E protocol, and and land key rehabilitation stakeholders in Dallol validate and Bosso adopt the protocol Output 4.1.1 1,500 farming households undergo training and adopt post-harvest loss (PHL) reduction technologies (e.g hermetically sealed bags) and practices (e.g harvesting at correct moisture content) Output 4.2.1 At least 600 smallholder producers (of whom 50% will be female producers) participate in capacity building trainings at local level to handle common pest and disease outbreaks of selected key VCs in Dallol Bosso Output 4.3.1. Monitoring and evaluation framework developed and implemented ANNEX B: RESPONSES TO PROJECT REVIEWS (from GEF Secretariat and GEF Agencies, and Responses to Comments from Council at work program inclusion and the Convention Secretariat and STAP at PIF).
GEF Secretariat comments Comments Responses 1. Risks: Yes. Please, during PPG, develop this The table of risks has been updated and risk analysis and formulate assumptions, reflects the changing global health situation hypothesis and mitigation measures, if occasioned by COVID-19. As suggested, needed. where needed the mitigation measures have been proposed. This level of risk assessment is complemented by more elaborate assumptions included in the project?s results framework that details assumptions for each of the proposed indicators. 2. We take note of the proposed implementation The project will be implemented jointly by arrangements which should be confirmed at IFAD and UNEP, with the former being the CEO endorsement. Lead Implementing Agency. As has been As the agency knows, the implementation and noted and iterated in the document, execution roles on GEF projects are meant to including under section 6 on Institutional be separate per policy and guideline. The Arrangement and Coordination, neither GEFSEC will analyze any requests for dual IFAD nor UNEP will play the role of role playing by an agency at the time of CEO executing any of the project activities. On endorsement and only approve those cases the contrary, the Executing Agency remain that it deems warranted on an ?exceptional? the government of Niger?s joint arrangement basis. We strongly encourage the agency to between Ministry of Environment and Fight look at third party options as a preferred way Against Desertification, and the Ministry of forward. We also strongly encourage the Agriculture and Livestock ? the former agency to discuss any and all options for Ministry being the lead through the execution that do not include the government Department of Water and Forest. with the GEFSEC early in the PPG phase. The technical clearance of this PIF in no way endorses any alternative execution arrangement. STAP comments Comments Responses 1. STAP Overall Assessment IFAD and UNEP welcome STAP?s Major issues to be considered during project comments regarding the overall assessment design: STAP welcomes the focus on this of the project design. In response, high priority area of Niger, and the proposal particularly regarding components 3 and 4, to address land degradation and establish IFAD and UNEP are of the view there is a institutional arrangements for effective strong link between improving value chains conservation of the only remaining population (component 3) and reducing post-harvest of the West African giraffe. However, this losses (component 4), and reducing proposal has serious weaknesses. It is poorly community overexploitation of land based written and at times hard to understand. There resources - which leads to resource is a lack of detail and reliance on vague degradation. Improving value chains creates aspirational language at a number of points. jobs, that is, additional but also alternative The internal logic is unclear - for instance, incomes that are not directly linked to the there are inconsistencies among outputs and exploitation of land resources relieve outcomes. Component 3 and 4 focus on pressure on land based resources. decreasing post-harvest agricultural waste, Additionally, high post-harvest losses does without making a clear case that this will lead not only pose food security threats, it also to the achievement of GEBs. There is encourages producers to use more land inadequate attention to governance resources to make up for the post-harvest arrangements for the proposed protected area, losses. particularly in relation to the large human populations that would live within it. There are major assumptions underlying the project logic that are not recognised or justified. STAP recommends development of a clear, explicit graphic and narrative theory of change, clearly linking intervention pathways to addressing drivers/root causes of the problem and achieving the project objective through a logically linked set of steps. This will also enable identification of critical assumptions at each step. 2. Project components IFAD and UNEP note the serious concerns These are unclear and hard to follow. For raised by STAP. In response, IFAD and instance, Outcome 2.2 is "The provided UNEP have revised outcome 2.1 to technical assistance provided to enables land ?Funding and technical assistance provided and wildlife conservation income generating demonstrate land restoration and wildlife activities", which does not make sense. There conservation in Dallol Bosso and is also confusion within components. surrounding areas.? Also, outocome 2.2 has Outcome 2.1 is "Funding and technical been revised to ?The provided technical assistance provided to demonstrate land assistance enables the generation of land restoration and biodiversity measures to and wildlife conservation-friendly income improve local livelihoods.", but then Output activities.? 2.2.1 is "Alternative Income Generating As above, IFAD and UNEP are of the view Activities implemented with local that reducing postharvest losses will communities to reduce threats to the [PAs]". contribute to biodiversity conservation. This So is the conservation to help people's view is underpinned by the understanding livelihoods, or is the livelihood support to that postharvest losses push communities to help conservation? This needs clarity and use more of natural resources to have the consistency. Output 2.1.1 (creation of the level of produce that they need to sustain Giraffe PA) is not clearly related to its their lives. Consequently, this leads to corresponding outcome (Funding and degradation of land based resources, technical assistance provided to demonstrate including accentuating conflicts with land restoration and biodiversity measures to giraffes that they are in competition with for improve local livelihoods in Dallol Bosso). the same landscape. There is no "component 3" ? instead Outcome 3.1 has been copied here, apparently in error. There is no clear link to GEBs in this component, or in component 4 - why is it assumed that reducing postharvest losses will contribute to biodiversity conservation? 3. Outputs With the revision of components 3 and 4 as Not clear, especially for components 3 and 4. noted above, IFAD and UNEP hope that the output are better aligned than before. 4. GEBs and/or adaptation problems, root Comments on GEBs causes and barriers that need to be addressed IFAD and UNEP note with thanks STAP?s (systems description) comments on the GEBs. IFAD and UNEP Key threats are identified as extensive are of the view that the level of articulation conversion of shrublands and forest to crops reflects the primary and pressing drivers that and grassland, due to agricultural expansion are directly relevant to the conditions and fuelwood harvesting. This is reducing prevailing in the project area. Additionally, giraffe habitat. Human-wildlife conflict with the drivers pointed out are also reflected in both giraffes and hippos is increasing. Land the proposed components. degradation is severe and expanding, and exacerbated by climate change. The problem Regarding resettled communities within the statement does not clearly distinguish Hippo Sanctuary, IFAD and UNEP wish to proximate drivers of threat from their deeper clarify that the management provision of the drivers, and no socio-economic or political Sanctuary is subdivided into specific areas drivers/causes are articulated. Some points are under different protection regimes in view of unclear: in the hippo sanctuary, it seems there the development objectives, the constraints are local populations resident, and yet all resulting from the condition of the area and agriculture and forest use is prohibited. How suggestions that considered the needs of the do these populations live? The EIA cited for population settled there. the damaging impacts of the Kandadji Ecosystems Regeneration and Niger Valley And the cited EIA is the most recent Development Programme is from 2006 - is assessment that we came across from this the most recent assessment of the impact? literature search on the Kandadji Ecosystems Regeneration and Niger Valley Barriers Development Programme.
Barriers are articulated but without stating Comments on Barriers what they are barriers to? Land tenure is typically a critical barrier, so STAP IFAD and UNEP take note of the comments recommends separating this out as a barrier in on Barriers, and thank STAP for the order that it receives adequate focused suggestions. In response: attention, not subsumed into Barrier 1 on lack -An introductory paragraph has been added of an overarching national framework on to state what barriers are barriers to; LDN. The whole of Barrier 2 is unclear. It is - The sentence has clarified and rephrased unclear what this means: "Further, no as, ?Due to lack of legal status, there are no mechanisms exist where development concerted policy provisions and activities can be planned in areas not used by development impetus to frame land use wildlife in order to minimize human-wildlife plans to minimize human-wildlife conflict, conflict, thus benefiting both wildlife and and to support investments in socioeconomic investment security." Why would development for wildlife conservation.? It is development activities outside of wildlife pointed out here that communities areas reduce HWC, unless they involved seasonally migrate, and therefore, people moving out of wildlife areas? development activities outside of wildlife Likewise, the meaning of "Niger appreciates areas can reduce HWC in that the activities the establishment and management of the will expand socioeconomic opportunities to Giraffe Zone is an integral part of the reduce their migration onto the wildlife areas economic development and planning process where they get into conflict with wildlife. that will lead to sustainable development -To improve the readability and logical flow, embedded in the national cultural parts and paragraphs of barrier 2 have been conservation policy aspirations" is unclear, as rewritten. are most sentences in this Barrier. There is a -Additional information has been provided great deal of vague language, but no specific to barrier 3 indicating that high post-harvest characterization of a barrier to change. Barrier losses encourage the exploitation of natural 3 is not linked to biodiversity or LDN - no resources that fuels land degradation but also articulation of why this is a problem for human-wildlife conflict in the project area. biodiversity/LDN is set out. The description -Conscious of the potential emissions from of the factors leading to PHL are internally processing processes due to the use of inconsistent (i.e. the list in the sentence power, in the view of IFAD and UNEP, starting "In sum" is a different set of factors to proposed practices such as the the use of those otherwise described. Barrier 4 says hermetically sealed bags and practices Barrier 3 was about socio-economic and harvesting at correct moisture content are biophysical barriers, while it is about capacity less likely to trigger emissions. barriers, but Barrier 3 was also largely about lack of capacity. Barrier 4 is likewise focused on PHL, but does make some effort to link it to environmental attributes, stating that it leads "to over-exploitation of natural resources and the broader environment" as well as increasing emissions. But much more information is required to build the argument that reducing PHL would reduce either natural resource exploitation or emissions, given that increasing processing will presumably also require power and increase emissions? 5. Baseline scenario or any associated baseline In response to STAP?s observations, IFAD projects and UNEP have included additional information to the list of associated baseline No, the proposal describes a number of other projects. initiatives, but doesn't make their relationship to this proposal clear, or articulate clearly what would happen in the absence of this project.
Are the lessons learned from similar or related past GEF and non-GEF interventions described?
Not adequately. 6. The proposed alternative scenario with a brief A paragraph on the theory of change has description of expected outcomes and been included in response to this comment components of the project? by STAP ? it has been inserted before the explanation of components. There is no explicit theory of change, or a clear implicit one. 7. What is the set of linked activities, outputs, Concerns raised by STAP on activities, and outcomes to address the project?s outputs, outcomes and project?s objectives objectives? are acknowledged ? and some of them have been addressed in the additional information Component 1 is aimed at setting up national that has been provided to the barriers and structures and capacity for achieving LDN, other sections of the PIF. through a multi-sectoral platform, an information hub, capacity building, strengthening land tenure, and develop an Integrated Landscape Mgt Plan for Dallol Bosso. It is stated land tenure will be strengthened, but no detail as to how. This is often a complex and lengthy process. Component 2 is about actions for biodiversity conservation and addressing land degradation in Dallol Bosso, mainly establishing the Giraffe PA. Unclear writing means this is hard to work out what is meant at several points e.g. "The implementation of the land use plan to safeguard hippos is rationalised on the fact that doing so with the use of land use plans (LUPs) to improve the management of hippos has been further substantiated, reflecting the current land uses, prevailing land tenure (communal) and community livelihoods." It seems that a PA (possibly Cat V) will be established, land use planning will take place within it along with support for alternative livelihoods, in order to reduce human pressures on key species. Restoration of key habitat (tiger bush) will take place within the PA. There is a great deal of vague aspirational language in this component but very little detail e.g. "The business plans will be creating and implementing strategies that combine bold commitments to sustainability in conservation and restauration efforts with practical solutions that deliver benefits to the bottom line and the environment." There is a big focus on securing investment to support restoration efforts, but the role of the local communities vis-a-vis these investors is not clear - who will be contracting with whom? How will respect for tenure rights and FPIC of communities be secured, both in relation to the PA itself (which should only go ahead with FPIC) and for these investments? How will potential conflicts between the protected area status and the development/livelihood needs of local communities be reconciled? What governance arrangements are being proposed - given this is a landscape in which a large population lives and works, is a co- management structure being proposed? Ecotourism is referred to at various points with no detail about the tourism potential of the area, current tourism visitation rates, constraints, requirements, etc. Component 3 focuses on reducing post-harvest losses through irrigation, solar energy systems, early warning systems for disease/pest outbreaks etc (quite a different list to the earlier description of this component), but the rationale for how this contributes to GEBs is poorly developed, and rests on unsubstantiated assumptions, particularly that if farmers produce more food, then natural resource exploitation will reduce. This is possible, but alternative plausible scenarios are that expanded processing/production facilities make increased production more viable and farmers expand their footprint, or that it triggers in-migration from other areas. There is not a priori reason to believe farmers will stop their productive activity at the point when basic subsistence needs are met (they don't do this in any developed country). Establishing irrigation systems can also impact negatively on river systems and aquatic life - it is not clear these potential impacts have been considered. Component 4 is difficult to conceptually distinguish from component 3, as it likewise involves reducing post-harvest losses, mainly here via building skills and capacity. The argument that these components will help achieve the objective is not clearly made. 8. Are the mechanisms of change plausible, and is there a well-informed identification of the See above in response to the comments underlying assumptions? raised on components 3 and 4.
No, assumptions are not well identified - in Regarding tenure security, the establishmen particular for components 3 and 4. In of the PA will be accompanied by component 1, the proposal states that participatory land use plans. IFAD and developing a management plan for the target UNEP are of the view that participatory land landscape will "will result in decisions made use plans that will accompany the process of in the optimum use of land in terms of PA establishment will clarify land use for biodiversity conservation, ecosystem services both local communities and national-level and socio-economic development". This development priorities. This clarification seems an enormous assumption - there are constitutes the strengthening of tenure in the many pitfalls between the making of a plan sense of access and use of land and and the outcome of optimum decisions being associated resources. The assumption might made in practice. In component 2, the seem enormous, however, considering the proposal states (later, p 39) that "Having a community level land use dynamics that is legal status a protected area will clarify and conflicted with the presence of wildlife in strengthen tenure rights of the people, the same landscape, creating a PA in including their negotiating abilities regarding isolation from land use plans will weaken environmental goods and services in the community members? access and use of land Giraffe Zone." Why would establishing a PA and associated resources. Therefore, the strengthen tenure? For many communities, it assumption needs to be taken within the undermines it, unless they have strong broader scope of what the project seeks to management rights. For the assumptions re achieve and prevailing land use dynamics components 3 and 4 see above. Later in the punctuated with human-wildlife conflict and incremental cost reasoning (p38), the proposal human seasonal migration on the plateau of makes an enormous assumption in saying Dallol Bosso. "Any investments in promoting eco-tourism will be one-off, and the operations will sustain themselves from revenues". Many other examples could be listed. 9. Incremental/additional cost reasoning and In light of additional information as expected indicated above, IFAD and UNEP are of the view that components 3 and 4 are clearer in The incremental cost reasoning is inadequate - terms of how this project will deliver GEBs. the case that Components 3 and 4 will help deliver GEBs is not adequately made. The Additionally, sections of incremental incremental cost reasoning states reasoning have been rephrased to respond to "Alternatively put, without the GEF support, STAP?s comment. the situation in the Giraffe Zone and surrounding areas is characterized by frequent cases of human-animal conflicts, with giraffes and hippos poached in a legal and institutional vacuum since the area is hitherto unprotected." But killing these animals is already illegal - establishing the PA will not change this. What will change in relation to poaching? Further, poaching was not identified as a problem for the species in the problem statement, so it is not clear why it is raised here. 10. Innovative, sustainability and potential for STAP?s concern is noted. IFAD and UNEP scaling-up are of the view that the project presents a set of soft and hardware interventions that Not really, although these approaches would combine approaches that simultaneously represent innovations in the context of the foster biodiversity conservation and land prevailing system in Niger. restoration while supporting local livelihoods. A paragraph has been added to the innovation section to clarify further the innovation of this project 11. How will the project?s objectives or outputs In light of the project?s objectives and in be affected by climate risks over the period response to STAP?s comments, climate risks 2020 to 2050, and have the impact of these have been assessed and included in the risks been addressed adequately? project document
These are only addressed minimally, by saying drought impacts will be addressed by using appropriate crop races, and agroforestry systems that enable resilience. 12. Has the sensitivity to climate change, and its impacts, been assessed? See above
No 13. Have resilience practices and measures to address projected climate risks and impacts See above been considered? How will these be dealt with?
Not explicitly, apart from above. 14. What technical and institutional capacity, and information, will be needed to address climate See above risks and resilience enhancement measures?
Not explicitly addressed. 15. Coordination: Are the project proponents As noted above under point 5, additional tapping into relevant knowledge and learning information has been added to highlight generated by other projects, including GEF lessons that the proposed project will draw projects? from existing projects.
Minimally. 16. Is there adequate recognition of previous projects and the learning derived from them?
No, this is weak. What has worked in similar projects? What has not worked? 17. Minor issues to be considered during project IFAD and UNEP have taken of STAP?s design point. STAP has identified specific scientific /technical suggestions or opportunities that should be discussed with the project proponent as early as possible during development of the project brief. The proponent may wish to: (i) Open a dialogue with STAP regarding the technical and/or scientific issues raised;
(ii) Set a review point at an early stage during project development, and possibly agreeing to terms of reference for an independent expert to be appointed to conduct this review. The proponent should provide a report of the action agreed and taken, at the time of submission of the full project brief for CEO endorsement.
18. Major issues to be considered during project As above, IFAD and UNEP have taken of design STAP?s point.
STAP proposes significant improvements or has concerns on the grounds of specified major scientific/technical methodological issues, barriers, or omissions in the project concept. If STAP provides this advisory response, a full explanation would also be provided. The proponent is strongly encouraged to:
(i) Open a dialogue with STAP regarding the technical and/or scientific issues raised;
(ii) (ii) Set a review point at an early stage during project development including an independent expert as required. The proponent should provide a report of the action agreed and taken, at the time of submission of the full project brief for CEO endorsement.
Council member comments Comments Responses 1. Germany IFAD and UNEP note with thanks the ? As a key to successful action for concerns and recommendation from the biodiversity protection and land Federal Republic of Germany. In response, degradation neutrality, Germany suggests the section acknowledging the role of reviewing the chapter on stakeholder different stakeholders has been renforced ? engagement to clearly identify how local including information regarding the populations and land users can fully engagement of local populations in land use participate in land use planning and the planning and the implementation of the plan. implementation of the plan; and Second, the project takes note of other ? Germany furthermore suggests seeking initiatives and interventions by other synergies with approaches from other development partners, including WRI. donors, agencies and NGOs. During implementation stage, IFAD and UNEP will continue supporting the country where needed, to synergise with other additional partners. 2. France IFAD and UNEP note with thanks the ? Promote agroecological practices and to suggestions made by the French Republic rely on traditional and local knowledge regarding the promotion of agroecological crossed with scientific knowledge in this practices, developing and monitoring the field; project?s contribution to climate change ? Develop and monitor the project?s adaptation and mitigation, food security and contributions on climate change job creation, and also the project?s link with adaptation and mitigation, food security, other related projects. The suggestions are and job creation; and noted, and to a fair degree, are reflected in ? Link this project to the many existing the project?s focus on supporting projects related to agroecology, smallholder producers with improved agroforestry, and land restoration in production systems, food and nutrition Africa (and in particular the International security and job creation (through for Initiative 4 per 1000). example, food value chains and infrastructure development). ANNEX C: Status of Utilization of Project Preparation Grant (PPG). (Provide detailed funding amount of the PPG activities financing status in the table below:
The PPG activities were designed to support the elaboration of the PIF to advance it into the Project Document which has been the basis for the CEO Endorsement document. This project will be implemented by IFAD and UNEP, the former being the Lead Agency. In the course of the project preparation, there have been meetings that have been held to smoothen the project preparation process in terms of engaging with the government of Niger, engaging other project partners and engaging of consultants to conduct thematic studies to support the elaboration of the Project Document. Specifically, the following consultants have been engaged to support the development of the Project Document: Natural Resources Management Specialist; Gender Specialist; Wildlife Conservation Specialist; Value Chains and Marketing Technical Specialist; Post Harvest Losses Technical Specialist; and two International Project Document Drafters. The PPG have certainly been hampered by the COVID-19 in the region, but also in Niger. Movements have been restricted to a large extent, and therefore, partners have heavily relied on the use of virtual platforms to conduct meetings. The table below summarises the manner in which the PPG funds have been utilized.
PPG Grant Approved at PIF: 181,279 GETF/LDCF/SCCF Amount ($) Project Preparation Activities Implemented Budgeted Amount Spent Amount Amount Todate Committed Natural Resources Management Specialist 25,800 25,800 25,800 Sociologist 20,800 20,800 20,800 Wildlife Conservation Specialist 23,700 23,700 23,700 Value Chains and Marketing Technical 24,500 24,500 24,500 Specialist Post Harvest Losses Technical Specialist 22,600 22,600 22,600 International Project Document Drafter 1 31,940 31,940 31,940 International Project Document Drafter 2 31,940 31,940 31,940 Total 181,279 181,279 181,279 ANNEX D: Project Map(s) and Coordinates
Please attach the geographical location of the project area, if possible.
Map of the Republic of Niger showing project area: Geographic Coordinate System: WGS84 Data source: http://www.diva-gis.org/datadown
Map of the Kandadji Hippo Sanctuary ANNEX E: Project Budget Table
Please attach a project budget table.
IFAD Budget table:
Expenditur Detailed Component 3 Component 4 Sub- M P M Total e Category description (USDeq.) (USDeq.) Total & C (USDeq E .) Outco Outco Outco Outco me 3.1 me 3.2 me 4.1 me 4.2
Works 0 0 Irrigation and 465 000 465 465 000 sustainable water 000 management systems on 500 ha Phytosanitary 368 000 368 368 000 control serving as 000 trading points, solar energy systems for irrigation, processing and packaging to improve the marketability of selected VCs Post-harvest 130 000 130 130 000 technologies 000 Market literacy on 0 0 selected value chains Goods 0 0 Communication 80 000 80 10 90 000 equipment to 000 000 facilitate information collection and dissemination, including field vehicle, computers, printers etc Vehicles 0 0 Grants/ 0 0 Sub- grants Revolving 0 0 funds/ Seed funds / Equity Sub- 0 0 contract to executing partner/ entity Sub- Community 90 000 90 90 000 contract mobilisation, 000 with the engagement and Ministry of strengthening of Agriculture cooperatives and and women groups, Livestock - including extension community-level services institutions for access and use of project interventions. Sub- Setting up of 100 000 100 100 000 contract irrigation systems 000 with the and community- Ministry of level institutions Agriculture for community use and and access Livestock - extension services Sub- 0 0 contract with DGEF Contractua 1. Facilitation of 65 000 65 65 000 l Services ? community-level 000 Individual institutions for community use and access 2. Community 65 000 trainer - market literacy 3. Integrated pest 65 000 76 801 and disease outbreak management Contractua 1. Setting up of 120 000 120 120 000 l Services ? irrigation systems 000 Company
Internation 0 0 al Consultant s Local 1. Consultants - 70 000 70 70 000 Consultant sustainable 000 s agricultural production systems and sustainable water management Salary and 0 0 benefits / Staff costs Project Coordinator 0 64 64 986 986 Project M&E 73 000 73 000 146 146 000 Officer 000
2 Project Field 20 000 20 000 40 40 000 Officers 000 Project Field 20 000 20 000 40 40 000 Vehicles Driver 000 Project Financial 0 48 48 000 Officer 000 Trainings, 0 0 Workshops , Meetings 6 community-level 368 726 69 000 437 437 726 capacity 726 development training sessions on operational protocol for data collection for M&E Communication 65 000 65 65 000 toolkits to improve 000 sustainable production systems, sustainable water management, mangement of crop and animal disease and pest outbreaks 8 Market literacy 130 000 130 130 000 training sessions 000 Capacity 206 801 206 206 801 development of 801 600 smallholders to reduce risks to selected value chains (VCs) ? rice, beef, onions and NTFP reduced through SLM Meetings/Conferen 40 000 40 40 000 ces 000 Steering 30 000 30 30 000 Committee 000 knowledge 20 000 20 20 000 Management 000 Travel 0 0 Travel 6 199 6 199 6 199 Office 0 0 Supplies Other 0 0 Operating Costs Terminal 20 000 20 000 40 40 000 Evaluation 000 Mid-term 25 000 25 000 50 14 64 000 Review/evaluation 000 000 Audit 0 0 Grand 2 339 0.00 400 206 2 739 0.0 136 2 876 Total 726.00 000.00 801.00 726.0 0 986.0 712.00 0 0
UNEP Budget:
Expenditure Detailed Description Component (USDeq.) Total Category Component Component Sub- M& P M C (USDeq.) 1 2 Total E Outcome Outcome 1.1 2.1 Works 0 0 1 Giraffe Protected 100 000 100 100 000 Area created and 000 operational 2 full-fledged 150 000 150 150 000 government-approved 000 IMPs (1 for the PA, and 1 for the Hippo Sanctuary) Participation of 50 000 50 000 50 000 women in the development of Integrated Management Plans CDPs which integrate 150 000 150 150 000 LDN and BD 000 Goods 0 0 Field gadgets 5 000 5 000 10 000 10 000 (Cameras, Compass, etc) Computers, printers, 0 5 000 5 000 data show, maintenance etc Giraffe Monitoring 39 637 39 637 39 637 fields Vehicule Hipos Migration 37 018 37 018 37 018 Monitoring Field Vehicule Vehicles 0 0 Grants/ Sub- 0 0 grants Revolving 0 0 funds/ Seed funds / Equity Sub-contract 0 0 to executing partner/ entity Sub-contract 1 national and 1 80 000 80 000 80 000 with the regional (Dosso)-level National data and monitoring Centre for systems hubs set up Ecological and government- Monitoring approved to showcase LDN implementation Sub-contract 1 national and 1 80 000 80 000 80 000 with regional (Dosso) - Permanent level institutional and Secertariat of legal frameworks that Rural Code strengthens land tenure for LDN implementation approved by the government Sub-contract The ILPM developed, 130 000 130 130 000 with DGEF approved by the 000 government of Niger relevant authorities and implemented Gender-responsive 50 000 50 000 50 000 tools developed to support national technical and policy implementation of LDN Subcontracts for 300 000 300 300 000 AIGAs contributing to 000 land restoration and BD conservation in the project catchment area Contractual 0 0 Services ? Individual
Contractual 0 0 Services ? Company
International 0 0 Consultants Local Consultants on 70 000 70 000 70 000 Consultants Wildlife Species (Giraffe &Hippos) conservation Strategies 0 0 Salary and 0 0 benefits / Staff costs Project Coordinator 0 60 242 60 242 Project M/E officer 72 000 72 000 144 144 000 (month 1-48) 000
2 Project Field 20 000 20 000 40 000 40 000 Officers Project Field Vehicles 20 000 20 000 40 000 40 000 Driver Project Financial 0 40 000 40 000 Officer (month 1-48) Trainings, 0 0 Workshops, Meetings
4 stakeholder gender- 70 000 70 000 70 000 responsive training sessions on tools for supporting national technical and policy implementation of LDN Training of Local 60 000 60 000 60 000 stakeholders on integration of LDN and BD in Communal Development Plans Restauration of 408 000 408 408 000 17,493.75 of degraded 000 tiger bushes, and 5 blocks of bourgoitieres Development of 50 000 50 000 50 000 communication toolkits and radio programs to improve adoption of SLM and restoration interventions and BD conservation information dissemination to stakeholders SLM and BD- 60 000 60 000 60 000 business plan development for private investors and enterprises and mobilisation of Private sector to restore land and conserve BD Meetings/Conferences 40 000 40 000 40 000 Steering Committee 30 000 30 000 30 000 knowledge 20 000 20 000 20 000 Management 0 0 Travel 0 0 Travel 6 199 6 199 6 199 Office 0 0 Supplies Other 0 0 Operating Costs Terminal Evaluation 20 40 000 40 000 000 20 000 Mid-term 25 50 000 50 000 Review/evaluation 000 25 000 Audit 0 10 000 10 000 Grand Total 775 217.00 1 529 2 304 0.00 115 2 420 637.00 854.00 242.00 096.00 ANNEX F: (For NGI only) Termsheet Instructions. Please submit an finalized termsheet in this section. The NGI Program Call for Proposals provided a template in Annex A of the Call for Proposals that can be used by the Agency. Agencies can use their own termsheets but must add sections on Currency Risk, Co-financing Ratio and Financial Additionality as defined in the template provided in Annex A of the Call for proposals. Termsheets submitted at CEO endorsement stage should include final terms and conditions of the financing.
ANNEX G: (For NGI only) Reflows Instructions. Please submit a reflows table as provided in Annex B of the NGI Program Call for Proposals and the Trustee excel sheet for reflows (as provided by the Secretariat or the Trustee) in the Document Section of the CEO endorsement. The Agencys is required to quantify any expected financial return/gains/interests earned on non-grant instruments that will be transferred to the GEF Trust Fund as noted in the Guidelines on the Project and Program Cycle Policy. Partner Agencies will be required to comply with the reflows procedures established in their respective Financial Procedures Agreement with the GEF Trustee. Agencies are welcomed to provide assumptions that explain expected financial reflow schedules.
ANNEX H: (For NGI only) Agency Capacity to generate reflows Instructions. The GEF Agency submitting the CEO endorsement request is required to respond to any questions raised as part of the PIF review process that required clarifications on the Agency Capacity to manage reflows. This Annex seeks to demonstrate Agencies? capacity and eligibility to administer NGI resources as established in the Guidelines on the Project and Program Cycle Policy, GEF/C.52/Inf.06/Rev.01, June 9, 2017 (Annex 5).